Deb and I went to a sweat lodge recently. She drove us in her 4-wheel-drive red truck up the narrow, rutted and winding, snowy road to the top of the mountain. She was so excited and it was a spectacular day - crystal clear, blue sky and sunny; bird's singing, snow sparkling on pine trees that scented the air with peace; cold muddy ground on bare feet; vibrant aspens with life stored in the bark and tree trunk cores, waiting for spring; wood smoke heating the stones to an orange glow, full of wisdom to share. This lodge was based on Lakota traditions and in the honoring of each cardinal direction; they began in the West. We prayed for ourselves in the first round of the west with Luc, the water pourer, speaking in answer to each one's prayer, channeling comments and wisdom or advice from a departed and respected Elder. We prayed for others in the second round of the North, and waited outside the lodge during the pipe ceremony of the third round, not wanting to subject our lungs to the smoke - despite the fact that the sacred herb, tobacco, used as visible prayer in ceremony in this way, is often used in healing ceremonies. Our clothes were wet and it was cold and healing to be in the forest, breathing mountain air on this beautiful land. We warmed up quickly, grateful to return to the sweatlodge for the final round of prayer and song. Deb's spirit was light, joyful, and playful and she found herself occasionally suppressing laughter in respect for the pervading mood of others. Perhaps she was beyond the drama portrayed in the stories and prayers of others, past the self-deprecation, self-flaggellating, beyond begging the Creator to be more, better, stronger... for she is all she can be now and going for more in her quest for the ultimate healing with all the passion and joy, fear, adventure and conquest she brings to all that comes her way.