Welcome Home August 2021 Initiated Warriors
It is so…It was etched on a makeshift note laying its back against the earth with her arms stretched through the stars. The sky that grinned and winked when you screamed “I am whole” and claimed “I am free.”
It is so.. Five warriors of the spirit, four that wore the uniform, and a spouse whose war came home to her, crossed the line on Easton Ridge into the warrior’s welcome home in the wilderness. Five of the greatest stories ever told, in the shadows of the everglades, across the sacred lands of the Lakota, within the eyes of the fallen in every corner of Global War on Terror, at the dinner table of childhood lovers, in prayerful waiting of a surgery’s success, eternal nights of waiting to pick up the 10,000lb phone, in service to sobriety one of 12 steps at a time, one day at a time, crossing the thresholds of love, loss, service, triumph, and getting up and doing it again despite the fear, the grime, and the Great Mystery of true intimacy.
It is so..through the reflections in the dragon’s eyes you found the poetry of your innocent warrior where Sunflowers and Black Roses wrap their arms around each other. Through the march to the threshold time solidarity beat in lockstep once again. In the land beyond time, the valiant bucks, bears, and bones of the earth carried the tail bone medicine of your true inheritance.
It is so..By the spirit of your ancestors you cut the chords of what no longer serves the future worthy of their sacrifice. Silence and sorrow played tug of war against grief and gratitude as the Owls whispered to the moon…Who will rise tonight? Who will dance in the grand ballroom of the unforgiven and take a bow next to the lupines? Who will talk to me? Who will answer me in the circle of the self? What will be lifted from the mundane to the sacred so this damn pain can break in half like a sniper’s back then tied back together in a marriage of new meaning?
Sally Mary S. de Leon - Army Veteran, Mother of two adult children, Life Champion, Survivor, Social Entrepreneur, Artist, and Author who believes that impacting the world to be a better place starts with how we treat ourselves. Sally Mary is pursuing a life coaching path through MindValley
I am Norm. I am a Combat Veteran. I am Connected. I served for 21 years in the United States Army and recently returned “Home”. I am thankful for my community and for the chance to support my fellow Warriors return from service to live their lives with a full heart and good intentions. I am a Veteran and I am Connected to My People in a supportive community of Warriors that do incredible things every day for Their People. I am a Warrior. I am a Veteran. I am Connected. Much Love, Uncle Buck
Dmitri Quist is an Army Combat Veteran, Commercial Diver, and a Whole Spiritual Warrior
Sean McGerald is a Veteran of the Coast Guard and the Army and continues to serve Veterans and Humans suffering from substance abuse.
Sunflower (Left) is a Wild and Whole Initiated Woman, Army Combat Veteran Spouse and Mother to a Special Needs Little Warrior
It is so..as it ever was the stories sifting through the wilderness have been on watch, on point, and at the ready to rip sling load from the branches to spring into the whole of you that cannot be wounded. They have been roaring in your ears from braces to Bootcamp within a million tiny deaths en route to the plan of the day. You rucked, sauntered, sat, prayed, listened, grieved, wrote, laughed, screamed, and rested until the Who Am I? mission as nature could no longer be tested. You carefully wrapped your surrender, courage, humility, and dignity across your heart and carried them gently back to your people across the threshold.
It is so…pumas, bears, eagles, Scandanavian sirens, and even dirt warrior Canadians bore witness to all that was shed, reborn, and claimed. The shadows of a service life have been brought into the light, given form, taken shape, and renamed. You honor yourself, your loved ones, our people that never came back, and those that never fully landed. You heal all hopes through your healing of the land and the intentions you carry with humble, weathered, and powerful hands.
We witness who you are in truth and wholeness.
We witness what you are in truth and wholeness.
We witness how you serve in truth and wholeness.
You are the gift of ceremony… and are Initiated.
Welcome Home with Love and Honor
Deep gratitude to the the team
Larry Hobbs - Elder Eagle Man, Veteran Rites Co-Founder, Senior Guide, Sobriety Sorcerer. Dear elder man living your essence, we are so grateful to learn and grow with you.
Susan Hatfield - The Scandinavian Siren, Elder Female Witness and Image Capturer, Sobriety Maven. We are so grateful to be held by you.
Tara Souch - Lead Female Guide, Military Spouse, Healer and Wilderness Guide. Thank you for stepping into our circle that was yours all along.
Puma - Assistant Guide, Initiate, Combat Army Veteran, Nature Coach, Do it All Blessing to us All. This ceremony would not have happened without you.
Dan the Man Medoff and Jessica Gorée (left) - Thank you for on call beans and band-aids and ongoing spiritual support.
Mitchell Brookman - Lead Veteran Guide, Initiate, Very Real “Wounded Healer” that injured his back on the land and finished like a warrior to come back and serve the people.
Ryan Mielcarek - Elder Veteran Witness captured next to a “real smile” by Uncle Buck
The Land - From all things we are blessed by you, through stewardship by Larry Hobbs, on the ancestral lands of the fourteen Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The people of the Yakama nation inhabited more than 12 million acres across Adams, Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, and Yakima Counties. The federally recognized Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation is made up of Klikitat, Palus, Wallawalla, Wanapam, Wenatchi, Wishram, and Yakama people. We honor those native peoples who are tied to the land through history, legends, and culture. We acknowledge their descendants who live in the world today. May we tend your stories and carry your gifts in a good way.
