September 19, 2015, Prescott- For the next several posts, I will be centering my comments on 16 principles, developed by Four Worlds International Institute, in Surrey, BC. It is led by a man for whom I have a lot of respect: Hereditary Chief Phil Lane, Jr., of the Blackfoot Nation. All quotes herein are from the document, The Fourth Way: An Indigenous Contribution to Building Sustainable and Harmonious Prosperity in the Americas, Update, October 2008.
Nobody asked me to do this, but I share both genetic memories and spiritual values with the Aboriginal Peoples of the Americas, specifically with the Penobscot Nation, of central Maine. There is no barrier between us, except those that people choose to put between each other. So, let me begin.
Principle 1: “Human Beings Can Transform Their Worlds. The web of our relationships with others and the natural world, which has given rise to the problems we face as a human family, can be changed.” –
The author, savant and change agent, Star Hawk, has written that, for Man to regard himself as divorced from nature, is an arrogant mindset. In fact, we in our physical state are very much connected to the rest of Nature. It’s pretty much a given, to me, that each and every thing we do in this life is a matter of choice. Some choices are more difficult than others, but they still need to be made. So, with regard to relationships with others, we can choose to respond to people, or to ignore them. I have found that I can only ignore those who irritate or are disagreeable to me for just so long, before one or the other of us presses for a resolution. The converse is also true.
How much more is this true, with regard to nature. One can, in the name of stockholder profits, order the spewing of poisons into the atmosphere, water and soil, for just so long, before the toxins find their way into the Web of Life- with cancer, dementia and neurological ills becoming pandemic. One may, in the name of Science, release Genetically-Modified Organisms into the food chain, while demanding that the rest of the planet toe your line, or face crippling litigation. Then, because living things are just not ready to digest your products and therefore, in the case of humans, RESIST purchasing them or, in the case of scavenging rodents, birds and insects, just IGNORE the stuff, you redouble your efforts, getting shills to write articles that ridicule those who won’t buy GMO’s, and prodding normally thoughtful, even-minded people to jump in the fray and try to analyze the case against your products, with a view towards “talking some sense into those who would starve humanity, for the sake of romanticism.” Still, the illnesses, and the wreckage, pile up.
My plans, with regard to relationships, are these:
- Accept all offers of friendship, unless and until such offers prove to be based on ulterior motives.
- Respect those, online and in real time, who indicate they wish me to not contact them, either for a time, or permanently.
- Be a trustworthy person, more than I have been towards some people in the past.
- Listen, listen, and listen some more.
- Own the mistakes I have made with people, and do better by them , and others.
My plans, with respect to Nature, are these:
1. Tend the seeds I have planted, in my back yard.
2. Honour animal and plant life, wherever I encounter them.
3. By all means, continue hiking and other acts of personal exploration, both in my home area and further afield.
4. Carry a trash bag in my pack, so that the unwarranted intrusion of the thoughtless may be mitigated.
5. Recycle, as much as possible, while recognizing that not everyone regards this practice as truly beneficial to the Planet.
I have gone on longer than usual, but these matters are very basic to my human and natural states of being.
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A Sagittarian Seeker 