THE GREEN RIDERS: Window Rock

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Window Rock - May 8

The Navajo Winds are good and powerful. We made it from Flagstaff to Window Rock (about 130 miles) without changing batteries.

The Navajo winds are powerful and sometimes not so good. Blowing sand over croplands, accelerating desertification.

We spent the day at the Navajo National Museum where Derrick had put together an entire program of speakers and vendors all focused on sustainability. Amazing!! The turnout wasn't great but there were good people there and as I said to Derrick later, putting together this event in the very impressive venue will benefit him down the road as a competent fighter for sustainability.

After the event, we came back to the house and the event was still going on. People were gathered in Derrick's straw bale house having a question and answer session about green building, solar, energy use behavior and all sorts of other related topics.

We had a very fine dinner with the family before heading off to peaceful slumber in Derrick's straw bale home (Tloh Kin - Navajo for Straw Home).

I ended up not speaking at the event because Derrick saw that I was busy when he wanted me to speak so he let me be.

In preparation for speaking, I made another fable.

Many years ago, there was a very famous horse trainer. He could subdue even the wildest horse and he travelled all over the land turning the wildest horses into subdued and manageable servants to their masters. His techniques were harsh. He broke the horses' will with the power of the whip and the strength of his own will.

One day while traveling to a customer's ranch, the horse trainer crossed through Navajo land where he saw a young boy and an enormous horse riding along a wash. The boy had no saddle, no halter and no bridle. He wasn't even holding on and they were going fast. It was as if the boy and the horse were one and the horse trainer immediately recognized something amazing.

He stopped the boy and spoke with him about the horse and how the horse had been trained. The boy quietly explained that he and the horse were connected. They understood that they both depended on each other for transportation, for nutrition and for friendship.

The horse trainer didn't understand and thought the boy was a nut who happened to have an exceptional horse. So he rode off to his next customers' ranch and carried on with his horse training ways. But the boy and the horse continued to haunt the horse trainer's dreams and thoughts. After a number of years, he found himself back in Navajo Country where he sought out the young boy who was now a man. They spoke for many hours and the horse trainer spend many days with the Navajo man watching how he worked together with horses, how the relationship with the horse was what created a trust and bond that protected both the horse and the rider and how the joy of that relationship enriched the life of both the horse and the human partner.

After much time, the horse trainer was convinced. He changed his methods and became even more famous and successful.

Imagine humans learning to love the planet as the Navajo boy loves his horse.