now is a memory of a sacred space: the rock wall in northwestern alabama. it is a site created over 35 years by a stone cutter in honor of his great-great grandmother who not only survived the trail of tears but is one of the only persons documented to have returned to her home. the artist hand-picked ant transported over 9,000,000 pounds of river stones and placed them, one at a time, to create an amazing art piece, the largest free-standing(no masonry) rock wall in the united states. he did it all himself. when i was there he was awaiting the arrival of three tibetan monks who wanted to visit one of the three holy sites in the u.s. the other two are the medicine wheel in wyoming and the hopi sacred mountain in arizona. look it up. now how i felt was overcome by the devotion to intent that this artist had. he is now 87 years old and has published a book If the Legends Fade(Tom Hendrix) that has sold over 22,000 copies from his front porch. marker 338, natchez trace parkway. i am still feeling the journey, in awe at the level that devotion can take, challenged in my own practice.