Oakfriend & Dedication ©
by Binz

Oakfriend,
Born of wetland,
Sustained by earth and air,
Energised by lightning's fire.

Once tall with pride,
You now reach out,
To all who know,
To all who feel.

More stable now,
Crouching, feline,
Not to pounce,
But to embrace.

With age, complete,
Wisdom of years,
All that you have,
You share without words.
Oakfriend
Oakfriend © 2004 by Binz, all right reserved.

Dedication

As I reach the gnarly field a cuckoo calls, reminding me that spring is well and truly here. A time to grow, a time of development. A kestrel flies from an ivyed oak. The morning sun is gently on my back and my boots are shiny with the dew. Life doesn't get much better than this.

As I reach Oakfriend; The Gnarly Tree, I see the stag Roe deer ahead. We share a few moments before he moves on, with the grace of one of the air rather than one of the earth. I sit with Oakfriend and prepare to right rite write my dedication. A pair of Canada geese give a happy cry as they fly overhead. The kestrel patrols the field.

I call upon all that exists, here, now, and beyond, to witness this dedication of intent.

I will live my life in harmony
Harmony with nature
Harmony with the Earth
Harmony with the inanimate
Harmony with the animate
Harmony with the flora
Harmony with the fauna
Harmony with all that is sentient
Harmony with Awen
Harmony with Tao
Harmony with all

Through my work I will reduce the harm that is done to this world. This I will achieve by working with my colleagues, not against them. Even an organisation the size of this huge globalised corporation can be changed, and I will continue to change it.

Through my pleasure and with my life I will reach a deeper understanding of Awen, nature, and all that is around me. And to them I dedicate my spirit, that it will become one with theirs and that they may enrich my life.

Through my life I will not instruct others to follow. I will honour the free will of all who cause no intentional harm. I will show people my example, that they will take from it what they will and is right for them at that point in their lives.

Though I recognise and may learn from the wisdom of those who have gone before and those who live in other lands, I will live in the here and now. If I receive I will give. If I do not receive I will give double.

This is my dedication. Made in the presence and witness of Oakfriend. Offered to all that is in existence, here, and now, and beyond.

I look up and see that Oakfriend is holding a small white feather. We exchange to mark the dedication. As I walk back across the field, the geese return. I feel complete.

I have lived in several places around the south east of England, much of my childhood was spent playing in the woodland of the Weald of Kent, I have now settled in a village in Hampshire. My family includes my wife, three children and an over excitable terrier. I work as an Environmental Consultant within a major multinational corporation. I enjoy simply spending time out in the countryside; walking, sitting, listening, feeling/percieving, thinking, non-thinking, watching the world go by or sitting in a pub garden.

I have only recently, in the past two years, come to accept that which I always knew, i.e. that there is a spiritual realm, that all things have their own spirit. I'm not one for labels, over the past year I have found that my personal understanding has a lot in common with the understanding of people who are on a druidic and shamanic path, but I do not call myself a druid or shaman. I am just someone who feels the spirit of nature and percieves the spirit of place plant and creature. I do not make any claim that my perception is 'true', but it is true to me and is part of my life.

To get a better 'feel' for who I am, I attach below my dedication that I made earlier this year. This came about when my path took me towards the Order of the Yew, which is within The Druid Network.

http://www.druidnetwork.org/yew/index.html

Oakfriend is a gnarly willow that was once tall, but has split and fallen and continues to grow with great strength. It is when sitting with Oakfriend that I do most of my learning and gain most inspiration, and so the output of my assignments feel like they a joint are effort between us both.

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