I am reading a beautiful book called Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I just read a chapter about the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address that is said before every gathering, including each school day in their tribal schools. It is the most beautiful prayer of Thanksgiving I believe I have ever read. Can you imagine how our relationship with the Mother Earth would change if each and every one of us spoke this message of gratitude every day?
It is long, but there are many things of this Earth to be thankful for! Here is just a start:
The People Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as people. Now our minds are one.
The Earth Mother We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our mother, we send greetings and thanks. Now our minds are one.
The Waters We give thanks to all the waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms‐ waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of Water. Now our minds are one.
The address goes on with additional odes of gratitude to The Fish, The Plants, The Food Plants, The Medicine Herbs, The Animals, The Trees, The Birds, The Four Winds, The Thunderers, The Sun, Grandmother Moon, The Stars, The Enlightened Teachers. The Haudenosaunee share this beautiful address freely as they were given it to share with the world. Link to full Thanksgiving Address.
It is my one great existential wish to connect deeply with the energy of water and feel in my heart its awesome power and amazingness. I bow to you, sacred water, in gratitude and in awe.
Posted in honor of World Water Day March 22, 2016
Deepest Valley Qigong 