MOTHER EARTH

excerpt from A CHEROKEE FEAST OF DAYS, DAILY MEDITATIONS,
                   by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Touching the earth is resting on the breast of our mother.  It is once again finding our beginnings - a knowing that this place where we stand or walk or plow or plant, is something created for us.. We know it because the pulse of the earth slows our own and tranquilizes our confusion.  Seeing the sky in all its limitless depths stirs our imaginations and stretches our awareness of the simple beauty provided for us.  We can see that it is wrong to be bitter and know that it lasts only as long as we let it.  When we reach toward the ceiling of our minds, we are as unlimited as the sky.  As currents of air stir the fragrances of the flowers, we may not be able to see where it comes from but we sense its influence.  Life is ours to enjoy as individuals and it comes from the Great Holy Spirit.

We sang songs that carried in their melodies all the sounds of nature...
   American Indian