Would you like to come on a journey with me? I'll be leaving in just a moment. We're going to visit my homeland, a place of rich history and culture from which there is much to learn. When my body grows tired, and my mind races at the pace of the city. When I feel lost and disconnected from Country, My aunty says, my spirit can visit Country, and Country will give me just what I need to continue on my path, strong and purposeful, until the next time I can return home. She said, take this place with you. Remember her and tell others of her sacredness. So, when it is needed for us to protect her, there are many whose spirits have met hers and will stand with us. So let us journey and see what awaits us in the red centre. I hope you find what you need, and your dreaming here after is pleasant and insightful. Until morning when you come back to your bed and awaken refreshed and rejuvenated. So, find a comfortable position and we can begin to travel. We will take nothing with us, and we will leave nothing behind. Breathe in, Aheye-angkeme. Drawing energy into your body, from your toes all the way up to the top of your head. Breathing out. Letting your body relax. Breathing in, Aheye-angkeme. . drawing that energy up, breathing out. Releasing any tension that you're holding on to. You can let that go now. Breathing in, Aheye-angkeme. Breathing out. We will take nothing with us, and we will leave nothing behind. Toes dig themselves into the dry riverbed. Before you and behind you stretches the winding gully lined with eucalyptus trees and ghost gums, snaking between hills of bouldering rocks and scrubby grasslands. The Country has not long past seen rain and the memories of water remains here. Water which flows through the centre of this semi-arid desert Country like veins through the human heart. Pulsing and beating life into everything it touches here in the red centre. The land, the plants and the sky are a vibrant composition of red, green and blue hues. Different species of birds, such as the Zebra Finch and the Little Button Quail, play and sing in the trees. Their sweet trills reverberate through the spaciousness accompanied by a whistle from the mighty Wedge Tail Eagle who circles above. You sit in the riverbed, basking in the heat of a mid-afternoon sun, uterne. Your body tingles as the rays touch your skin, as if each cell is a solar panel absorbing the energy of this golden guardian. You play with the sand around you, sifting through your fingers the grains of history, culture, language, and story that belong here. A story that is still being told to this day. A fresh breeze blows through the red rock hills, rustling the eucalyptus leaves, dancing with the birds in flight, washing over you with an enchanting sensation. Day turns to night, here in the red center and the Milky Way, Amiwarre, scatters a a billion stars across the endless expanse of space. Just off the horizon are the Seven Sisters who launch from where the earth and sky meet, racing across the heavens from Orion who follows in pursuit. This is the same sky that has been marvelled for thousands and thousands of years. A celestial road map, a calendar and the greatest book ever written. Hung above like an array of diamonds amidst ebony coals. Fifty meters ahead down the river there's a campfire. Flickering flame catches your eye and you move towards it. The desert night chill sets in and the warmth of the fire is welcomed. The setting of many great stories. Gazing into the dancing flame, a message comes through. The message is from this Country, ignited by the flame and whispered on the wind. Carved into the ranges and carried by the dingo's howl. Swimming in small soaks. Summoned by the Ancestors and defended by the original sovereign people of this land. All kindling in a dancing flame. The land is living, conscious and aware, with such intelligence to survive, regenerate and thrive for millions of years. Our footsteps are a grain of sand in the vast shoreline of those who have walked before us and those who will walk after us. But our steps aren't always tread lightly and our imprints have become so big that the generations after us will not witness the same ecosystems we are so privileged to exist alongside. Country has cared for us, but some have forgotten that in turn we must care for her. That when our bare feet are on the ground, when we are out in nature, when animals and plants are allowed to thrive, when Country regenerates. We too are revived. The flame settles and the subtle ambience of the bush returns. You look up at the night sky and lay back in the soft sand of the riverbed, digesting all that has been shown to you. You track the waning moon with your sleepy eyes as the fire burns slow but steady by your side. The red centre of rich culture and history of resilient, spirited people and Country alike, has revealed herself to your visiting spirit. The trees, birds, stars, and elements, have all harmonised in a courtship of sacred synergy. Take this place with you on your journey. Remember her and tell others of her sacredness. So when it is needed for us to protect her, there are many whose spirits have met hers and will stand with us. Breathing in, Aheye-angkene. Breathing out. Breathing in. Aheye-angkeme. Breathing out. We will take nothing with us and we will leave nothing behind.