My Baby Wolf Drum
My husband and I were friends since grade 9 in 1984. We started dating in 1991, got married in 2001, and celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in July. My husband surprised me with a gift certificate to attend a drum making workshop. It was so unexpected. I’ve been meaning to do a drum making workshop and signed up a couple times last year, but failed to follow through. I was going through many “life changes” and could not commit.
In hind sight, I was not meant to attend those workshops. The timing was not right. The anniversary gift was a surprise. My husband sifted through my emails to find the contact name of the drum workshop facilitator. This would have been a challenge because I corresponded with the facilitator mainly by Facebook. I commend my husband and the best part is that I got to share this experience with friends from my canoe and other wonderful people who were meant to attend the WOLF DRUM workshop.
Every workshop has a different theme and the WOLF seemed to resonate with me. It is not to say that I have any real-life experiences with wolves, but the metaphor of the wolf seems to reflect who I am. Wolves are passionate, strong, and independent. However, the true strength of the wolf comes from his or her connection with family. I love that. I also pulled the DRAGONFLY “animal card” that represents transformation, expression, and finding oneself. I was in the right place at the right time. This one-day workshop was like another day of Pulling Together… being with friends, learning something new, and connecting with nature.
The elk hide is ‘real-skin’… spooked me out. I have never worked with that kind of material before. Thank you Arthur. We shared stories about the wolf, deer, and elk. One of the facilitators who prepared the hide for the workshop said that you can sense the stories experienced by the animal when handling the hide. She claimed that we may get a lot of “knowledge.” I thought about using latex gloves to work with the hide, but opted to go bare handed. No regrets. The drum is a living being.
The facilitators asked us to be aware of any dreams, visions, or thoughts during this week while the drum dries and report back next week. Although there is a part of me who is somewhat skeptical of what I am about to experience, but I am practicing how to ALLOW and TRUST. This is challenging for me when I think I am 100% in control. I am in control, but not with the details of how I get from A to B. My job is to figure out the BIG PLAN and trust that I am heading in the right direction and allow myself to choose the ‘right decisions’ to get where I want to be.
It’s been one day since I’ve made my drum and I had three distinct dreams: (1) I dreamt about the canoe and talking to people how people are selected for each crew; (2) I dreamt about looking out a doorway and being thankful for being able to hear the leaves rustling; and, (3) I dreamt about working with adults in education. The dreams were so clear but as I write I am unable to articulate specific details. What I do remember were the underlying themes of each dream with clear images. The images brings me much happiness and a sense of calm or connectedness. I am looking forward to next week when my drum is dry and ready for playing.
Because this is my first drum, it is tradition to give it away. I am not alarmed by the concept of giving away the drum. What I do intend to do is to give away my baby wolf drum when my TRANSFORMATION is complete. I hope to play the drum during the Pulling Together 2012 canoe journey, but I am willing to give her away when the time is right. I am still in a state of change and I am stoked about what’s to come. My tutoring business is thriving. I am giving professional development workshops to teachers. And, I am working on my dissertation that is of interest to other educators and myself. I trust and allow the universe to guide me.