Notice During the Covid-19 Outbreak
In solidarity, we at the Interfaith Peace Project stand together in these times of heart break and upset. Some of you may have lost friends or family members. Some of you may have lost your job and your income; some may be working overtime to help with the crisis. Some of you may be home and alone and some may be trying to figure out a new way to live. Please let us know how we can help. If you would like a phone appointment with any of us, give us a call.You may call or email Tom at:
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© PhotoGranary stock.adobe.comFebruary 1, 2021
Prayer to the Great Spirit
Interfaith Harmony Week Day 1
Oh, Great Spirit,
Whose voice I hear in the winds
and whose breath gives life to all the world.
Hear me! I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes
ever hold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand
the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.
and whose breath gives life to all the world.
Hear me! I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes
ever hold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand
the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.
Help me remain calm and strong in the
face of all that comes towards me.
Help me find compassion without being overwhelmed.
I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother or my sister,
but to fight my greatest enemy: myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you without shame.
The Lakota (Teton Sioux) are one of the three prominent bands of the Sioux people. Their current lands are in North and South Dakota. Please note the words “Lakota” and “Dakota” mean friend or Ally.
Reflection/Response
Pondering the wisdom of this poem, invites us to experience the sacredness of all that is. Several things come to mind, let us explore.
The Great Spirit is not only pervasive in all things but causes them to be. The World with all its mystery is sacred. The ground under our feet reminds us of the preciousness of our lives. Take off your shoes, allowing yourself to feel the Spirit speaking to you in the wetness of the grass and the softness of the mud.
The beauty of the Natural World speaks to us with great wisdom. The rain, the cold, the storm, the calm, instruct us as we journey through the pathways of our lives. Seek their wisdom with great courage.
The very wind itself carries the teachings and wisdom of the Ancestors. Pause here upon this rock and learn a lesson or two as the Ancestors are dancing and chanting in the ways of the wind.
Realizing we can be our own worst enemy, we make friends with the mountains and the majesty of all that swirls around us. We are made of the substance of all we behold. What beholds us is more than we can comprehend and so we sing, and dance, and jump, and bow down in profound silence.
Let your life come to the Great Spirit like the Sun setting on the horizon. As we walk in the pathways of the forest, so we discover the pathways of our lives. All roads converge in the splendor of the beauty of it all.
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