Created

January 15, 2006

Media

Marker on Paper

Size

Orientation

Landscape

A Pact with the Mountain God (original poem)

Poem by Keith J Eldridge January 15, 2006

A pact for peace and safety in the mountains

“I won't underestimate the strength of the Mountain God.”

“Let your strength bring beauty, not destruction.”

How we have mistreated you!

We will not underestimate your strength

We see your power

Let your fire bring us merely warmth

Let your rain bring us only rainbows

Let your snow bring beautiful views

We dug your soil and moved it

We flattened your forests

We cut your trees down and wasted them

We polluted your waters

We raided your mines without first asking permission

We burned your fields

We bore tunnels through you

We leveled your peaks

We littered your ground

We fought in your home

Let us not destroy each other

Let us enjoy your power in the form of beauty

This is a pact with the Mountain God. This design has the poem included. I heard these words being dictated to me and wrote them down. I highly recommend reading the poem/pact in the full design as well.

It is an admission by humankind to nature of the things we’ve done wrong and how we’ve mistreated the Earth and it’s mountains. By admitting our wrongdoings and showing remorse, we pray that the mountain God will take our apology into consideration and we can live harmoniously with nature, peacefully and safely. We often mistreat our environment without even thinking about it.

I believe that hundreds (or more likely thousands) of years ago, everyone understood the power and importance of nature and our surroundings, and paid proper respect, and we were able to live without having to see the wrath of Mother Nature’s anger (not to say there were no places without extreme climate). Eventually we began to get too comfortable, different technologies developed and GREED set in. That’s when we started destroying our environment in return for wealth.

I think we forgot that Mother Nature will gladly provide us with what we need to live comfortably, if we simply show our appreciation and do not take advantage of her. This pact recognizes our past, asks for forgiveness and sets a path for people to interact more closely and respectfully with nature. In return, the tragic events we see everyday should grow smaller and smaller.

Want to know more?

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Inspiration

The image and poem in the design came straight from a dream. I woke up at 3am with the image of the mountain with the rainbow triangle in the middle and sun on top. I sketched it in my dream notebook, but couldn’t go back to sleep. So I got up and drew the picture and named it.

After that I went back to sleep and woke up with the first line of the poem in my head, then wrote it down. I tried to go back to sleep again when the next line came, then the next, then the next… finally I decided I had to get up and complete the design.

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Situation

This drawing is useful for people in many situations, such as:

Nature lovers
Those working in nature or forestry
Those who enjoy camping, hiking, mountain climbing
Those living in the woods
Green Peace
People who wish to become one with nature
Anyone who wants to help clean up the environment

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Notes

The first design in this pair has the poem separated from it. The poem is for the people to understand, but the Mountain God's energy is powerful enough without words. I strongly believe that pictures speak thousands of words, so in the original design, I left it off.

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