Good Timber

 

Good timber does not grow in ease,

The stronger the wind, the stronger trees;

The farther sky, the greater length,

The more the storms the more the strength.

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

In tree or man good timber grows.

-UNKNOWN 

Your Path

 

Do not allow others to make your path for you.

It is your road and yours alone.

Others may walk it with you,

But no one can walk it for you.

Accept yourself and your actions.

Own your thoughts.

Speak up when wrong, and apologize.

Know your path at all times.

To do this you must know yourself inside and out,

Accept your gifts as well as your shortcomings,

And grow each day with honesty, integrity,

compassion, faith and brotherhood.

- TERRI JEAN, 365 Days of Walking the Red Road

Prayer

You've been lucky... Lucky to suffer and lucky to spend these weary months in bed. For so God has given you a chance to make the spirit within yourself. And as your father cleans his lamp to have good light, so keep clean your spirit, huh?...By prayer, ... And by prayer, I don't mean shouting, mumbling, and wallowing like a hog in religious sentiment. Prayer is only another name for good, clean, direct thinking. When you pray, think. Think well what you're saying. Make your thoughts into things that are solid. In that way, your prayer will have strength, and that strength will become a part of you, body, mind, and spirit. The first duty of these new legs is to get you to chapel on Sunday.  - Richard Llewellyn(author), Philip Dunne(screenwriter), How Green Was My Valley 1941 http://www.filmsite.org/howg.html

Be My Valentine

 

It is in loving, not in being loved, the heart is blessed; 

It is in giving, not in seeking gifts, we find our quest;

Whatever be your longing or your need, that give;

So shall your soul be fed, and you shall live.

-UNKNOWN 

"Nobody's free until everybody's free."

 

 

This little light o' mine, I'm gonna let it shine,

This little light o' mine, I'm gonna let it shine,

This little light o' mine, I'm gonna let it shine,

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

- HARRY DIXON LOES, 1920

Spring's New Hope

 

Behold, my brothers, the spring has come, the earth has received the embraces of the sun and we shall soon see the results of that love!

Every seed is awakened and so has all animal life. It is through this mysterious power that we too have our being and we therefore yield to our neighbors, even our animal neighbors,

the same right as ourselves, to inhabit this land.

Yet, hear me, people, we have now to deal with another race - small and feeble when our fathers first met them but now great and overbearing. Strangely enough they have a mind to till the soil and the love of possession is a disease with them. These people have made many rules that the rich may break but the poor may not. They take tithes[taxes] from the poor and weak to support the rich who rule.

They claim this mother of ours, the earth, for their own and fence their neighbors away; they deface her with their buildings and their refuse. That nation is like a spring freshet that overruns its banks and destroys all who are in its path.

We cannot dwell side by side. Only seven years ago we made a treaty by which we were assured that the buffalo country should be left to us forever. Now they threaten to take that away from us. My brothers, shall we submit or shall we say to them: "First kill me before you take possession of my Fatherland[home]..."

- TATANKA YOTANKA, SITTING BULL, HUNKPAPA TETON SIOUX 

Neil's Old Guitar

 

This old guitar ain't mine to keep

Just taking care of it now

It's been around for years and years

Just waiting in its old case

Its been up and down the country roads

Its brought a tear and a smile

Its seen its share of dreams and hopes

And never went out of style

The more I play it, the better it sounds

It cries when I leave it alone

Silently it waits for me

Or someone else I suppose

This old guitar

This old guitar caught some breaks

But it never searched for gold

It can't be blamed for my mistakes

It only does what its told

Its been a messenger in times of trouble

In times of hope and fear

When I get drunk and seeing double

It jumps behind the wheel and steers

This old guitar ain't mine to keep

Its mine to play for awhile

This old guitar ain't mine to keep

Its only mine for awhile

This old guitar

- NEIL YOUNG

Mother is Sore

"The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?" - CHIEF SEATTLE

Prayer for the Day

 

 

Dear Father, 

I am blessed today to be one of your children.  I appreciate Your handiwork in all that You have created.  I stand in awe that You made it

all for mankind so that they might enjoy it and be blessed in it.  Thank you for the beauty of the mountains, the glorious sunsets and the blue skies with

those patches of little white clouds on a nice day. Thank you that I have eyes to see all of Your great artistic work in the creation of the earth. Lord,

forgive me when I am tempted to complain about anything.  I really have nothing to complain about when I have the Creator of the whole universe as my Father

and friend.  May I be a good friend to You and serve You faithfully every day of my life.  Use me today to bless and help others.  I ask this in Your Son's name
 Amen.

When God Made Me

 

Was he thinking about my country or the color of my skin?

Was he thinkin' 'bout my religion, and the way I worshipped him?

Did he just create me in his image, or every living thing?

When God made me.

When God made me.

Was he planning only for believers, or for those who just had faith?

Did he envision all the wars that were fought in his name?

Did he think there was only one way to be close to him?

When God made me.

When God made me.

Did he give us the gift of love to say who we could choose?

When God made me.

When God made me.

Did he give me the gift of voice so some could silence me?

Did he give me the gift of vision not knowing what I might see?

Did he give me the gift of compassion to help my fellow man?

When God made me.

When God made me.

When God made me.

When God made me.

- NEIL YOUNG

Did you ever consider why Neil would pen a song about God? I mean Neil's a 'rock 'n' roller, isn't he?

I mean I've followed his music since the 60's when he was with the Buffalo Springfield and protesting the way our country was headed back then. I really think that his mission has matured since those days. But he still writes songs that stir the soul and make you think. Have you listened to him lately or thought that he was dead. Have you ever thought about why God made you? I have... - YO:NIH ONONDAWAGA, SENECA

A Beautiful Message

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation. - ISAIAH 52:7 NLT

  People need hope. They try to find it in many things, but the only real and lasting hope is in God. That is why it is wonderful to be his representative. Most people have a distorted perception of God - either as a controlling taskmaster or an impersonal being that does not bother to intervene.

  Yet you know who he really is - the God who gives Joy and Eternal Life. Today, tell others the beautiful message of the God of hope so that they can experience his peace and salvation as well. You will find their gratitude is utterly overwhelming when they finally meet and embrace the God they've longed to know.

Dear God, I praise you for your beautiful message. Help me to repeat it to those who need hope so they may know you as well. Amen 

This Kind of Love

 

You speak to me through a broken window
You are alive in an old oak tree
You hold me close when the winter wind blows
I hear your footsteps on the street

I feel your prsence in the early mornin'
I dream of you in the darkest nite
You call to me without a warning
I see your face in the fires lite

This kind of love you cannot hold
This kind of love it has no shame
This kind of love is never old
This kind of love you cannot hold
This kind of love you cannot tame

You found a way through all my secrets
And made my proud defenses fall
This kind of love it has no distance
This kind of love it knows no walls

This kind of love you cannot hold
This kind of love it has no shame
This kind of love is never old
This kind of love you cannot hold
This kind of love you cannot tame
This kind of love is without blame

- BILL MILLER

The Oldest Living Participatory Democracy On Earth

 

Oh Eagle, come with wings outspread in sunny skies.

Oh Eagle, come and bring us peace, thy gentle peace.

Oh Eagle, come and give new life to us who pray.

Remember the circle of the sky, the stars, 

and the brown eagle, the great life of the Sun,

the young within the nest.

Remember the sacredness of things.

- PAWNEE PRAYER

 

American Creed

Patriotism which leaps over the fence of party prejudice. Religion which jumps over the law of intolerance. Brotherhood which climbs over the mountain of national separations. - UNKNOWN

  THE GREAT LAW OF PEACE
Article 24^*

          The chiefs of the League of Five Nations shall be mentors of the people for all time. The thickness of their skin shall be seven spans, which is to say that they shall be proof against anger, offensive action, and criticism. Their hearts shall be full of peace and good will, and their minds filled with a yearning for the welfare of the people of the League. With endless patience, they shall carry out their duty. Their firmness shall be tempered with a tenderness for their people. Neither anger nor fury shall find lodging in their minds and all their words and actions shall be marked by calm deliberation.


^* As translated in Akwesasne Notes, 1977

Forgotten Fathers by Bruce E. Johansen 

Nature

There is no word for nature in my language. Nature, in English, seems to refer to that which is separate from human beings. It is a distinction we don't recognize. The closest words to the idea of nature translate to refer to things which support life. It is foolish arrogance for humans to think themselves superior to all the life-support system.. How can one be superior to that which one depends for life? Humans have invented marvelous technologies. The result has been that parts of the world live in unneccessary and debilitating surplus while people in other parts of the world are dying for lack of food, clean water, and shelter. Priorities need to be redirected so that people who have plenty need not feel shame while others hunger and die. There should be no homeless or hungry people anywhere in the world. Those in power need to address this deplorable situation. We are fellow travelers on this earth...We live in an era when far too much money is expended on the military. Even as we enter a time of increasing potential for peace among the major powers, military expenditures remain grotesquely high. The purpose of these high military budgets must be the anticipation of violence. As a mother I demand that our sons not be raised to die in war. War is irrational, its causes suspect. If we are to live on this planet we must eliminate warfare, which is harmful to all living things.I would urge the whole concept of nature be rethought. Nature, the land, must not mean money; it must designate life. Nature is the storehouse of potential life.of future generations and is sacred. Human societies already possess the technologies neccessary to provide food, clothing and shelter for everyone. The organization of distribution of wealth needs to be repaired, for that imbalance destroys both contemporary and future human life and nature. Western society needs to prioritize life-supporting systems and to question its commitment to materialism, Spirituality should be our foundation... -AUDREY SHENANDOAH, ONONDAGA

Praises

I praise you for the rivers the mountains and the streams
I praise you for the eagle, the visions and the dreams
 
I praise you for my children the mountains and the streams
I praise you for the eagle, the visions and the dreams
 
I praise you for my people the mountains and the streams
I praise you for the eagle, the visions and the dreams
 
The visions and the dreams, the visions and the dreams

- Bill Miller, First Nation Grammy Recording Artist
Bill Miller's Music 

Listen to Me

If I Took Away Your Shelter, Put You On the Street
If I Took Away Your Table and Chairs, Threw Away Your Meat
Stole Away Your Wife and Child, See How Lonesome You Would Be
Is That What It Would Take For You to Listen to Me

If I Took Away Your Legs and You Could Never Walk
If I Took Away Your Words and You Could Never Talk
Blinded Your Eyes and You Could Never See
Locked You Up in Shackles and You Were no Longer Free
Is That What It Would Take For You to Listen to Me...

Listen to Me, I Am the Thunder You Refuse to Hear
I Am the Rock You Can't Hide Under
You Have Nothing More to Fear
This Is a Time For Healing, the Scars Upon the Land
My Son, Listen to Me..

If I Gave You a Blanket, You Could Be Warm
If I Gave You a Roof to Stay Under
Would That Save You From the Storm
Gave You All the Money You Could Ever Spend
Do You Think That Means Your Troubles Would Finally End
Is That What It Would Take For You to Listen to Me

Listen to Me, I Am the Thunder You Refuse to Hear
I Am the Rock You Can't Hide Under
You Have Nothing More to Fear
This Is a Time For Healing, the Scars Upon the Land
My Son, Listen to Me

I Give You the Seed Dig Your Roots Deep in the Land
Here's a Blade to Turn the Soil Grow Somethin' in the Sand
I Give You All Me Blessings, My Blood Runs Through Your Veins
I Will Stand Beside You, Even When It Rains
My Son Listen to Me

Listen to Me, I Am the Thunder You Refuse to Hear

I Am the Rock You Can't Hide Under

You Have Nothing More to Fear
This Is a Time For Healing, the Scars Upon the Land
My Son, Listen to Me..

- Bill Miller

From the Father to the Son

Native Ammerican Bill Miller accepts Grammy

Making Peace

"If your enemies are hungry, feed them...and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you." Don't let it get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good. - ROMANS 12:20-21 NLT

 

 WOUNDED KNEE MASSACRE, 1890

 There may be people in your life that no matter how accommodating and nice you are - will not return your friendship. It can be frustrating. You want to have peace, but they prefer conflict. If you respond in anger, there will never be harmony between you. However when you continue to treat them with kindness, eventually you prevail over whatever feelings they have against you. You don't have to surrender your principles - you must simply assert them with gentleness and wisdom. The only way to sway your rivals is to pray for them and be kind. You will find that as you were busy making peace, you were also making a friend.

"The meek shall inherit the earth."

 

Monday's Good Words

The American Indian is of the soil, whether it be the region of the forests, plains, pueblos or mesas. He fits into the landscape, for the hand that fashioned the continent also fashioned the man for his surroundings. He once grew as naturally as the wild sunflowers; he belongs just as the buffalo belonged. — Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Lakota

Our Town

 

"All the greatest people ever lived have been telling us that for five thousand years and yet you’d be surprised how people are always losing hold of it. There's something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being."
- Thornton Wilder, Our Town