Matters of the Heart

Heber Valley, Utah

It is a majecstic Sunday morning. I sit in a beautiful lodge overlooking the Heber valley. The view from the deck is a mountain ridge, and off on the horizon there is a profile of a woman etched in the mountain. She is lying on her back, looking upwards towards the sky, her hair flows downward cascading from her forehead. We named her Vogue...for what a pose she strikes. Her given name is Utahna, and through the legends told about her and her lover, we may find an opportunity to develop meaningful connections in our world.

Utahna's profile can be seen by looking at the left side of this photo on the horizon

Another view of "Vogue" from the deck

If she were real, and she obviously is, her priority is to provide beauty and inspiration in our world. It is her destiny. The focus of her eyes point upward toward heaven. She never takes her focus of that which is her destiny. There are differing versions of her destiny:

"Red Eagle desires the beautiful Utahna, and will either achieve a great feat or lead her to believe he is a god in order to take her as a wife. Meanwhile, Utahna is either pursued by many for marriage, or chosen to present herself as a sacrifice to appease the gods and end the drought. The two become great lovers, but jealousy of others or Utahna's revelation that Red Eagle is not a god ends their happiness. The tale may end as jealous warriors ambush Red Eagle on Mount Timpanogos, causing him to fall to his death, and remain immortalized as the beautiful Emerald Lake. Utahna is so distraught at this news, she lies down on the mountain top and dies, hence the outline of a woman can be seen today."

"In alternate versions of the legend, Utahna proceeds to jump from Mount Timpanogos as a sacrifice for her people once she discovers Red Eagle has deceived her. Red Eagle's deceit is usually revealed after he is wounded by a bear, because gods would be invincible, and Utahna pities him and nurses him back to health. Utahna jumps from Mount Timpanogos as she was tasked to do, and Red Eagle finds her body taking it back into their home within the Timpanogos Cave system. His great sadness causes him to brood over her body, until the god Timpanogos has mercy on the lovers and joins their bleeding hearts into one, the "Great Heart" stalactite found in the Timpanogos Cave System. "

My friend that I spent this weekend with said to me, "you can be focused, but your priority may not serve you; and likewise, you may have the right priority but lack focus. " Ahhhh, profound words!

The yin and yang of life is most intriguing, I suppose we look for balance in all things. When it is there we feel whole. Just like nature, there is purpose in every living thing, we are all connected.

There is a butterfly that hangs over the door of the deck of this magnificent lodge,  the butterfly has significance for my friend, likewise butterflies have great significance for me as well. It was of surprise when I noticed it...and yet...maybe not.

"Interpreting animal symbolism is a powerful way to connect with nature, and learn lessons from her creatures - lessons that we can apply to our own lives. Observing the butterfly and learning her symbolic meanings offers us an opportunity to apply her movements to our own lives. For example, we can relate the butterfly's stages of life to our own life-phases...growing pains, times of ravenous hunger, times of vulnerability, moments of miraculous expansion. The more we seek symbolism in nature, the more we realize we have a lot in common with animals, insects and life in the wild realms. Indeed, we are intimately connected with the animal queen/kingdom - inseparable from nature and her movements."

As I moved over the last 2 weeks, I indeed experienced: growing pains, times of ravenous hunger, times of vulnerability and moments of miraculous expansion and discovery. I discarded or gave away most of my material possessions. It was a simple task to walk around my apartment and choose what meant something to me. If it was monetary and replaceable it no longer had value to me. Simple things such as pictures, mementos and books had meaning.

Where my priorities lie, and where I challenge myself now is this: 

staying focused on matters of the heart.