In light of this incredibly powerful eclipse where so many energies are coming up and so much is coming up to be seen and transformed (read more @indigoocean's wrap-up post on it), many of us are having more intense dreams, having things fall apart and come to endings in our lives, while the beginning of new possibilities (not always easy) are coming to the fore.

My friend @brazen asked me last night in an email:

Writing Prompt:

Why were you put here on this Earth?

I laughed and said, How can you ask me that?! - in jest ... For this is a question I have long pondered and at times feel some insights into why, but others the reason evades me.

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Purpose is something we bring to our lives. It isn't a given. We aren't usually aware of our live's purpose when we're young (no matter if you could answer the What do you want to be when you grow up? question with ease when you're a kid (I certainly couldn't!!!).

favorite quote from Alice in Wonderland! Never leave home without your Porpoise!

But the fact remains that many people go through life feeling purposeless. They leave home without their purpose every day and are guided by necessity and the whims of other people's callings.

It's imperative in these times that we actively go out seeking our purposes. There are ways that we can uncover these. One way which is very powerful for me is following my intuition and paying attention to my dreams.

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I would like to share with you a dream that I had last night that I feel is a signpost reminder about my purpose.

Last night I had a turtle dream. It was taking place on our land and there was a large mulch pile (a 20 ft circle of very deep mulch) where different sets of turtles were nesting. There was a large white (with a little black defining the shell) female sea turtle bedding in and laying a nest. She dug herself in and all that was showing was her head and her partner was standing on top of the mulch guarding her. This one caught my eye because obviously we are very far from the sea and this was a large and stunning turtle! There were also other sets of turtles on the mulch, one who live around here. I was yelling for Ini to come over and look ...

And there were also a lot of other people there, young kids and people of all ages walking around. They were here to learn and see what we were up to. One of the young girls walked on the mulch pile and almost stepped on the mother sea turtles nest and I quickly ran up there and jumped to stop her and to protect the nesting turtle. She didn't step on it and the dream changed scenes.

I had a lot of dreams last night. As per @indigoocean's astrology wrap-up article, the times are very intense right now with the lunar eclipse (largest in our lifetimes) and other lineups in the sky.

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As I woke up and reflected on my dreams, which I often do to see what their meanings or messages may be, I immediately thought of the turtles as representing Mother Earth and that my role in the dream is to teach and protect. I am an earth Protector taking a stand.

The story of turtle island is a creation myth told by the Iroquois people and it is the story of how North America came to be.

Here is a short snipit from wikipedia, but if you are interested I suggest reading some of the longer accounts:

According to Iroquois oral history, Sky Woman fell down to the earth when it was covered with water. Various animals tried to swim to the bottom of the ocean to bring back dirt to create land. Muskrat succeeded in gathering dirt, which was placed on the back of a turtle, which grew into the land known today as North America. In the Seneca language, the mythical turtle is called Hah-nu-nah, while the name for an everyday turtle is ha-no-wa.

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In 2013 Ini and I spent some time in Peru and the people there and their reverence for Mother Earth (whom they call Pachamama) touched my being in ways that forever changed me.

In all honesty it was very hard to come back to North America, the place of my birth and where I've lived my entire life save a few travels here and there out of the country.

In many ways I felt like I was retuning "to the belly of the beast"- the place on this planet energetically responsible for so much destruction, war, pain, bad politics, brokenness and the upholding of a genuinely evil ignorant system. The thought crossed my mind to move elsewhere, but out of a sense of deep calling and responsibility, we decided to seek to land our dreams here in the belly of the beast. What else would my birth, education and familiarity with the place be for? Who is needed here if not we who speak for the earth?

The dream to me spoke twofold for the sea turtle was also white. I have had dreams of white animals in the past and if you're not familiar with the coming of the White animals in native lore, here is a quote to get you started.

According to Chief Arvol Looking Horse, traditional leader of the Lakota clan of the Sioux nation and 19th generation Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Bundle, the appearance of these white animals heralds a time of great urgency for the Earth and humanity as a whole. It is said that the appearance of such unusually coloured animals is a sign; an omen calling for us to unite as a People and walk as One; to see past the colour of our neighbour’s skin or the ancestry of their people and to come together and embrace them as brothers, sisters and all-related children of the Earth Mother. (I encourage you to read more about this here)

In this spirit, I invite you to listen to this incredible song by Lyla June, All Nations Rise:

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We are in a time of great change on this planet and it is our role as humans to be voices for the earth.

We are the reflexive consciousness of the earth in fact. And we must speak for those that cannot speak for themselves.

Yesterday I read an article by @walkerland where she details the pain she is feeling at the destruction (clear cutting) of a forest that abuts her land.

And still the day before @riverflows wrote a post about the devastation and pain/loss she feels that these sacred gum trees have been cut down.

I resonate strongly with these women in the drive to Save and take care of these tree elders, they are my tribe. In seeing their light and strong warrior spirits so impassioned, it encourages me to take a stand, too.

We are coming together, finding our tribe, finding those who also feel this way and who are stepping up.

This is one reason I love Steemit- because I have made amazing connections within this space and the communities I'm a part of, notably @ecotrain and @tribesteemup.

We are coming together in this time to strengthen ourselves and this, to answer my friends querie, is why I'm on earth right now. To protect, care for and listen to our Earth and stand for peace in ourselves and amongst each other.

We are the ones

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