"Everything the Power does it does in a Circle"
A few days ago I stumbled upon a journal with intermittent entries I'd
made during 1990-1993. As I skimmed entries I stopped to take a closer
look at one written on Easter Sunday, 1991. Seems I was dealing with
common difficulties men encounter just before, during, and after
turning 30 year old
Nearly 20 years later I am looking for a few "instructions" to guide me through life. I don't remember how these three tips were selected. I do know that these words strike a deep chord in me twenty years later. I believe they have affected my character and how I move through the roughest times in life.
I decided to pass them along accompanied by a brief explanation of what each lesson meant to me at the time.
So.....
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Honor the past
Accept the present
Trust the future
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"Don't let yesterday use of too much of today"
-Cherokee
Honor the past
It seems that this idea is first nature to indigenous peoples around the planet. To honor the past means to turn over the reins of life to and cultivating deeper awareness of the ancient human experience with something far more powerful than people. It goes by different names including the "Ancient", "Great Mystery", Grandfather, Wakan Tanka, Creator, God, Great Spirit, Holy Spirit, Tao, and son on.
This instruction prompts me to acknowledge the struggles of all my ancestors whose collective sacrifices delivered me to a relatively fortunate set of life circumstances. Historically, each generation shares a desire to create a better world for their children. So, I am impelled to honor my own past and all those who dropped into my life.
It is a good thing to honor people whose lives have touch you. One
way I honor is by expressions of gratitude and remaining faithful to a
time when a spirit of Solidarity reigned. and solidarity. Finally, it
means to remain true to my ancient Dream, accepting the burden and gift
of carrying a 'torch" if passed to you, Honoring the past breathes life
into our souls, roots us to the ground and prepares us to treat people
with basic respect, Somehow this practice gives us things necessary to
see us through the darkest of times, things like strength, courage,
hope, and endurance.
___________________
"Creation is ongoing".
- Lakota
Accept the present
The only time we ever have is right NOW---what good does it do to fight it ?
It's been said that one definition of Hell is us wanting things to be
other than than they are in our lives. We spend too much time secretly
whining or complaining about the unfairness and nastiness in life. All
time spent protesting where we are right NOW is wasted time and
energy--a mistake.
Now, it requires hard work and a meaningful reason to practice accepting who we are and where we find ourselves at any given time. We are challenged to let go of the ways of youth so we can operate as responsible men and women with all attendant demands for responsibility and sacrifice. We finally agree to function as co-creators of our lives--collaborating with the Great Mystery--and people in our lives.
Life is no easy adventure. Rather than fret over how things are we have the ability and obligation to realize rough times give birth to wisdom and easier times. We are asked to accept everything that comes our way as opportunity to practice skills and learn information that will be using too many times over the rest of our lives. Sooner we make peace with life's unfairness, brutality, and pain, the better we will be.
Really, what is the alternative to accepting the present ?.....as if
there was an intelligent alternative. Yes, we work to change the things
we can with a bit of wisdom of knowing where we place our efforts. "Thy
will be done" is the hint that accepting the present will bring it's
own rewards.
_____________________
"Truth does not happen, it just is.
-Hopi
Trust the future
Perhaps it is true that the future is our friend if we would let go of doubt, fear, and other demons that haunt our lives. It has been said that the only time is Now, that the seeds of the future are present from the beginning, that the beginning is the future and the future is at hand--or present right now. Remember time is just a construct we invented. It has no meaning to the rest of the Uni-verse.
We tend to survive all that comes. So, we need to let go of our fear and attempts to control things. The future calls to us to remain true to our dreams. As we remain true to our Dream, the seeds of the future begin to sprout and grow.
Again, what is the intelligent alternative to trusting the future ? If we honor the past, accept the present, we are creating an outline of our future that we can depend on. Silence and stillness are good medicines to allow us to trust the future. Acknowledging the mystery and power of Love. makes it possible to trust the future. Love is metaphysical gravity as B. Fuller said---the farther we drift from Love the deeper into the depths of outer Space or Hell we find ourselves. Love is quite literally in the air we breathe.
Humility is a useful thing to cultivate in life. It allows us to recognize the Uni-verse is much bigger than our narrow perceptions and weak imaginations. We don't know how many worlds there are. Our senses offer access to but a small percentage of "reality". We can continue to wander through life like lost souls in the cosmos or we decide to find our way back Home. Home is where we belong.
Looking back, these three instructions have helped me to experience
some break from the discourse that rattles my soul and disturbs Silence
and Stillness. Letting go into the mystery of life seems the only way
to go.
__________________________
"With all things and in all things, we are relatives".
-Sioux
"It is an Honor to be Alive"
We don't know how it got started and we don't know how it will end....if there is such a thing as the "end". Like it or not, we are living. It might just be an honor to be alive. Maybe we really have no right to give up hope. Maybe we need to have our eyes checked so our Vision returns. Maybe at the end of the day it will have been worth all the pain and heartbreak. Maybe things do get better even if our efforts are unseen. Everything we think, do or say sends ripples out across time and space. I can't get around this proverb:
"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave".-Dakotah
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