Guest Author - Phyllis Doyle Burns
This article was written by our previous editor, Phyllis Doyle Burns, and all rights are reserved. For inquiries and comments, please contact the current editor, Jane Winkler.
Long, long ago, when the two-leggeds listened to the four-leggeds, the winged, and the ones with roots, there was Harmony and Balance on Mother Earth. There was Peace with all Creation. The rivers and lakes were full of clean waters, the air was pure. The Circle of Life was present in everything. Mother Earth was content and well. Then the voices were silenced and began speaking in languages we do not understand. Mother Earth became troubled - Mother Earth is not well.
In their time the Ancestors listened. They communed with Mother Earth, the animals, the birds, the plants. They prayed daily to Creator and offered thanks for all they had received. They prayed to the six directions, East, where the light and new life began; South, where the warmth and growth began; West, from where maturity and knowledge came; North, where old age and wisdom gave them peace and the knowledge that they lived their life well; Mother Earth, who gave us life and returned to us that which we planted in Her; Sky, where Creator lived and looked down on us with blessings and gave us knowledge, gave us our spirituality and took us back in to where our Ancestors walked when our physical life ended.
The Ones who walked before us were in almost constant prayer of thanks. They walked upon Mother Earth gently, as if each step was a prayer. They left no harsh footprints, only footprints of their spirituality and their way of life. They took from Nature and Mother Earth only what they needed and no more. And they gave thanks each time they took and asked the spirits of that which they took to give their gifts with blessings. They gave back with blessings of gratitude and the gift of caring, nurturing.
As more and more people came the animals retreated - the lands where they once roamed became smaller and smaller. Even the birds who had the whole sky to soar in had less places on Mother Earth to rest. Plants and trees were uprooted without thought to their ability to give new life to the forests and wooded areas - taken carelessly with no thought to their medicinal or nutritional values.
There are still many people on Mother Earth who listen to her and do what they can to protect and heal her - but, are there enough people who care, who will make a difference? Are there enough to listen to the voices of the Ancestors, the voices of the animals, birds, and plants? Is it too late to return to the simple life - to live as much as possible off the land and to give back to it? If we continue to constantly take and not give back, there will one day be nothing to take, nothing to help us survive.
We can listen still and do what is possible to heal Mother Earth, the giver and sustainer of life. We can dream of what it used to be like - we can also dream of what it could be like for our children and grandchildren. No achievement is ever realized without first having a dream, no journey is ever completed without taking that first step.
In my Native American forum are some of the people who care. We have discussions on what we can do to be kind to Mother Earth. One such discussion is: "Out of the grocery store and off the land." A woman of Native American heritage began this discussion and others have joined in. Come join us and share your thoughts on how to heal Mother Earth.
Blessings and Walk in Harmony and Balance.
Phyllis
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Great Spirit,
give us hearts to understand;
Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give;
Never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed;
Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth's beauty;
Never to take from her what we cannot use.
Give us hearts to understand
That to destroy earth's music is to create confusion;
That to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty;
That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench;
That as we care for her she will care for us.
We have forgotten who we are.
We have sought only our own security.
We have exploited simply for our own ends.
We have distorted our knowledge.
We have abused our power.
Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst,
help us to find the way to refresh your lands.
Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution,
help us to find the way to cleanse your waters.
Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with mis-use,
help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork.
Great Spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed,
help us to find a way to replenish them.
Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost
in selfishness and corruption,
help us to find the way to restore our humanity.
- Author Unknown -
From First People Of America And Canada
(link below)
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