Walk the Path
"Life is like a path...and we all have to walk the path... As we walk...we'll find experiences like little scraps of paper in front of us along the way. We must pick up those pieces of scrap paper and put them in our pocket... Then, one day, we will have enough scraps of papers to put together and see what they say... Read the information and take it to heart." --Uncle Frank Davis (quoting his mother), PAWNEE
"Everyone got to find the right path. You can't see
it so it's hard to find. No one can show you. Each person got to find the path
by himself." --Charlie Knight, UTE
Like the song says, “We must walk this lonesome valley, We have to walk it by ourselves; O, nobody else can walk it for us, We have to walk it by ourselves.” – American Spiritual. So it is that each person must find the Path, but we do not truly walk alone for Creator/Great Spirit walks by our side..
“To walk the Red Road is to know the Great Spirit, and it is to know the seven powers. To walk the Red Road is to walk quietly, developing respect for everything and everyone around you. It is speak kindly, caring for the people, the winged, the four legged, and all else that lives here on the skin of the Earth Mother. It is, knowing that every person and everything created by the Great Spirit has some knowledge to pass on, to one who will listen with an open heart, and open mind. You must respect yourself. If you are your own enemy, your heart will be closed, and your spirit dark. You must respect your mate, and let him or her walk in your soul, not in your shadow. You must learn to forgive. We are all related, we are all related to each other.” – author unknown to me
I walk the Rainbow Path on the Red Road. The main concepts of this Path are “Do no harm” and “Everything is One”.
"Abstain from doing evil." Walk hand in hand with Great Spirit, know how to love, honor, and respect our fellow brothers and sisters.
“Turn away from
evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” – Psalms 34:14
“Depart from
evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.” – Psalms 37:27
“Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.” – I Peter 3:11
“And do good, that you may prosper.” – Quran 22:77
The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In other words, don’t do anything to anyone that you would not want done to you. These words of wisdom were spoken by both Jesus [Matt 7:12, Luke 6:31] and Confucius [Analects 12:2], and are found in nearly every religion.
Everything is connected, all of creation. Recognize the sacredness of everything.
We are all connected and therefore when we pray for others we are in turn praying for ourselves. Mitakuye oyasin - for all my relations. "We are related to each and everything that has ever been or ever will be." - Little Crow
"Love Creator with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself."
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” – Matthew 22:37-40 [Mark 12:28-31]
Rainbow Path:
· Red - Respect the importance and value of all beings.
· Orange - Offer fair and kind treatment to all.
· Yellow - Yearn to learn throughout life.
· Green - Grow by exploring your ideas, and values together.
· Blue - Believe in your ideas, and act on them.
· Indigo - Insist on peace, freedom, and justice for all.
· Violet - Value our interdependence with nature.
(http://www.kuuf.org/rainbow.htm)
“There are certain times in our lives when
a voice whispers to us. The voice doesn't always talk. Usually we hear it best
when we are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Inside of every person is
the knowledge that a Supreme Being exists. Sometimes a restlessness occurs and
it makes me feel I need to be doing something or I need to be going somewhere
or maybe I start wondering who am I? Often when this happens, I feel lost.
Inside of everyone is the natural, built-in desire to be walking the Red Road,
or to be seeking a relationship with the Creator. No one can force us to make
this journey. We must make this journey because we want to. This journey is not
on the outside. The path is inside of ourselves. It is inside that we must
begin our search.”
We
must learn to be content in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. We must learn to trust Creator, and live in
harmony with all of Creation. Only then
will we find true peace and joy.
Oh Great Spirit, help me this
day to look within myself. If trouble arises, let me realize that it's not what
is going on but how I am looking at what's going on. Give me Your power this
day to conduct myself according to Your way of life.
"Let us put our
minds together as one."
--Irving Powless, Sr., ONONDAGA
If we sat in a circle
and put an object in the center of the circle and we all described what we saw,
everyone would see different points of views from each other. Some would even
see opposites because they would be sitting on opposite sides of the circle. In
other words, you don't have to see what I see for you to be right. In fact,
everyone in the circle is right based on their own point of view. If we are
willing to listen to everyone's point of view, then we can get a more accurate
description of the object in the center. This is one way to put our minds
together. When we get the clarity from each other, we should give thanks and be
grateful to each other.
Grandfathers from the four
directions, guide me today with Your wisdom from the east, from the south, from
the west and from the north.
Perfectly intelligent people lose what they want most by
demanding something that is still in the courting stage. There is a time to be
bold, says the Cherokee, but it takes wisdom to know when it is. If something
is worth having, it is worth waiting for, worth working toward. But fear of
losing something before we have had a chance to make it our own can stir us to
take risks that are often unwise. Insecurity makes us react in plain-speaking
ways that cause us to lose the very thing we want to keep. Action is a
necessary part of living, but persuasion is an art and seldom appears
demanding.
- Quote -
‘The Great Spirit
will not punish us for what we do not know.’
~Red Jacket~
There is a route to success that is available to just about everyone. It is persistence. No matter what your level of skill or experience, no matter how knowledgeable you are or aren't, when you continue making the effort for as long as it takes, you'll get where you're determined to go.
Persistence does not require any special
talent. There's really nothing to stop you from persisting with one possible
exception -- discouragement. But what is discouragement? Does
it really need to have any power over your actions. Should you allow it to
dictate your future? Does it make any sense for your discouragement about the
past to prevent you from going forward toward the goals you desire?
Discouragement has exactly the amount of
power you give it. And guess what? You don't need it. It won't being you
anything positive. So go beyond it. Persist in your efforts. Forget about the
disappointments. Look resolutely at what's ahead, at all the great things that
are possible. Keep going, today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.
- Ralph Marston (http://greatday.com/)
Great Spirit....
Guide me today to walk the red road and to keep my spirit
and traditions alive.
To remember who I am, where I come from, and to always
know that you walk the path of life beside me.
Grant me the knowledge and wisdom of my ancestors and
help me always to be proud of who I am and who I am to become.
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
http://www.westerncherokeenation.org/history_and_culture/red-road-intro.shtml http://www.geocities.com/email4dale/redroad.html |
