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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 3, 2015)
in other words september3 Small Town, Big World ~ CAUTION: Elephant Crossing By Britt Bensen-Steele Let’s talk about elephants. Elephants have a very special place in the hearts of the people in the places my husband and I have visited: Bali, India, and Thailand. You can find them traveling down the streets amidst buses, motorbikes and dump trucks, as well as being adorned with brightly colored paints and shiny dressings, hovering high above the people in weddings, funerals, and ceremonies of all sorts. I have seen them shoot hoops, and paint tiny flowers the size of a tennis ball (with an artist’s brush held delicately in the trunk). I have ridden elephants, looked closely into their big brown eyes, and I have been quite frightened while on the back of an elephant when a nearby mama elephant was accidentally separated from her baby. Elephants are super sensitive and can feel movement and unusual changes on the earth more than three miles away, as seen when they were mysteriously able to escape the danger of drowning in the 2004 Thailand Tsunami by moving to higher ground long before the tropical disaster occurred. Their voices can converse below a decibel level discernible to the human ear, even when all we hear is silence. They are matched with their trainers, before they are even born. Trainers stay with their one elephant for the entire life of the elephant and as the elephant grows and matures, the trainer is with them each step of the way, for most of the day, seven days a week. This tight bond keeps the elephant and trainer connected, and 2015 7 grant blessings, blow open doorways and make easy a passage into a new venture, be it a business, a new marriage or the birth of a child. In olden cultures there is a closeness to the earth and to all of its creatures that permeates religion and culture. Animals of all sorts are seen not as something to conquer, but instead as worthy of being respected, communed with, revered, and integral to the whole of creation. Their “gift” is called upon to enhance our time here and to make our lives easier, more integrated, and holy. Elephants are just one BIG way we are reminded, as they say in India, “I am the world and the world is me.” minimizes the risk of injury or death to the trainer. The trunk of an elephant alone can cause both great destruction, as well as make a seemingly impossible task look effortless. They are sensitive, magnificent, matriarchal, and bonded to their herd for life and beyond. They can even hear a recorded voice of a matriarch deceased more than 20 years, and respond with cries of sorrow. This is likely where “an elephant never forgets” originated. Mythologically, the elephant represents the ability to effortlessly remove obstacles, clear one’s path, and be as gentle as the most gentle, and as powerful as the most powerful. These joyful, powerful, big-bodied creatures who sit above other animals in the jungle are both prayed and meditated upon to Oregon Realty would like to thank Henk Schenk for his years of service to our company, and for his dedication to his clients and community. Please join us in wishing Henk a Happy Retirement. OPEN HOUSE September 6, Noon-6 pm Receive a $5 off coupon Bighorn Logging since 1981 Contract Logging 503-324-2422 Free Estimates Timber Purchases Timber Management Owned and Operated by Don & Kim Wallace Oregon Professional Logger certified since 1996 CORPORATE MEMBER Theraputic Massage Specializing in • Auto/Work Injury Rehabilitation • Medical Massage Cupping • Manual Lymph Drainage • Nutritional Counseling • Post Mastectomy Care • Oncology Support • Sauna on-site Heather Lewis, LMT, LMP, CLT, NT 847 Madison Avenue, Vernonia For appointments call: 503-429-4677 Insurance accepted #10732 Ha nd Loc al o rga nic sta rts & -cr re New lo duce cation ! ! ! Adams Avenue & Weed St. of Bridge The corner City Hall) from Street) (across (at Bridge Interested in Vending? PleaseContact Penny (503) 804-0424 or Bill (971) 998-3705 A PROJECT OF: n C ia OMM U o pro mo Check us Out on Facebook s & 503.429.0214 NEW LOCATION! od Prime Rib Fri & Sat go Burgers & Beer NEW LOCATION! ed Full Breakfast Menu aft Family Dining TY NI v e rn DON WALLACE, PLS Professional Land Surveying 1224 E. Alder St. Vernonia, OR 97064 Phone: 503-429-6115 FAX: 1-866-297-1402 Email: DWallace_KLS@msn.com New Day Massage and Bodyworks Garden June t
