05/08/2026
Sharing a beautiful piece of writing from our dear resident Tess Brickett. Let us remember and honor the peace represented by the Eastern White Pine. Read below:
My hospice room has a sweet little tree outside the window. It’s an Eastern White Pine. What a blessing.
Not just because it conceals my view of the fire damaged Franciscan Center beyond the parking lot, although that’s a plus!
And it’s a blessing not just because it provides shelter for the birds who come to visit the feeders.
I revere the Eastern White Pine because it is the Great Tree of Peace of the Haudenosaunee.
This is Haudenosaunee territory. Onondaga Land.
The Haudenosaunee flag features the Great Tree of Peace in the center, connecting the original five nations that became the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
The pine stands for the Onondaga Nation, where the Tree of Peace grows.
Tekanawi:ta, the Peacemaker, and Hiawatha planted the tree and under it they buried the weapons of war of the five original Peoples of the Longhouse.
And ever since, the Haudenosaunee people have enjoyed peace among themselves.
May we all remember and honor that peace.
May we all embody that peace.
May we return to right relation with our indigenous elder brothers and sisters who have cared for this land for centuries, and with Mother Earth and all of her creatures.
May we be inspired by their example, and bury our weapons of war forever.
Upon my arrival here I was given a braid of sweetgrass.
The greatest honor of my life.
Sweetgrass, Mother Earth’s delicate, fragrant hair, braided with love and care.
It represents kindness, peace and healing.
When braided together, it symbolizes the unity of body, mind and spirit- the very definition of yoga.
A hospice room turned meditation cave, sheltered by the Great Tree of Peace, blessed by braided sweetgrass.
Who could ever imagine such beauty and grace?
