A TURTLE'S VIEW ON LIFE
Life! Oh what a subject. Where does one start in explaining it's meaning? How do you compress sixty-seven years of knowledge and learning into a brief message that will not tax the patience and eyesight of the people of today? There are many ways. You may speak with them one on one, in a group or you may, as done here, write to them. In either case, communications are vital to the peace of mind and well being of any human being who wishes to live in a harmonious society.
It is vital that we speak out our thoughts and make known our frustrations so that they do not undermine our own inner peace. But what has inner peace have to do with life?
Perhaps the best way to begin is at the beginning. My life has always been a simple thing. A modest birth, by a mid-wife in a home rather than a hospital. Growing up amongst many relatives and friends all sharing a common state of poverty (money wise). Having for teachers those aunts, uncles and Grandparents, whose accumulative knowledge gave you a head start in life. It is this type of teaching that has made my life what it is today, a life of seeking answers.
My greatest lesson in life can be attributed to my Great Grandfather. A lesson that has directed my path and given me a consciousness in so far as treating with people. This lesson came when I was about five years old when my Grandfather took me out to view the Eagles. It was in the late spring, and I remember that the mosquitoes and black flies were terrible. Although the memories are dim with time, I can still remember my Grandfather standing there with his shirt off, allowing the warm spring sun to take away the aches of winter from his tired old body, as he would say. I can remember some of the long walk, but much of it has been forgotten. But vivid in my memories in this old age are the torments of the insects and the restlessness that I underwent during the waiting period.
Oh how proud I was, standing there with my Muxumsa, waiting to see the eagles. I remember trying my best not to move or fidget, looking up at that tall figure beside me. Oh how he towered there, his creased and weathered face looking like it was carved in stone, his silver hair loose and thin, blowing about, looking for all the world like clouds surrounding a tall peak with the sun behind it. Oh how proud was the moment when the eagles finally came. And how lasting were the words of my Muxumsa, when he finally put his hand down upon my little shoulder.
"Tulpe (my nickname then), You see those eagles. Watch them. Learn from them. As they are ever seeking in their flights through life, let your your life be one of awareness also, seeking understanding not for your own sake but for those who must follow. But know this, Grandson. No human being has any more right to tell another what to do, then they have in telling those eagles where to fly. For people, like those eagles, have a freedom of spirit and a goal in life that are entirely their own. Yet while an eagle must fly to its goal by instinct, human beings are guided to their final destiny by their conscience. So while you may not tell them how to act, you may talk to their conscience and allow them the decision whether to be guided by your words. That is the way of wisdom and honor."
Those wise words remain with me now and forever will.
Blue Turtle
