Yesterday I had the honor of speaking at the Church of Spiritual Oneness in Erie PA. It was one of those moments that inspired me. That my trusting Spirit was completely rewarded. I knew what I was going to say was going to affect several people there. It was a powerful reaction. Beautiful, loving and what I think Spirit wanted to happen. So here is what I had to share:
Good Morning. There is so much that I could talk about today and Spirit let me in a direction with some wildly different themes. Patience, Persistence and Perception and this song. Trust me they all go together as you soon will find out.
First off Tuesday is a pretty important day, please go out and vote. There were too many that fought for our freedoms and that right to vote that you should not ignore your responsibility.So there is a song that has been haunting me and at the end of this talk we will play it. But I am reminded by my Mentor, Jack Rudy to always start a good talk with a laugh. So I shall share the story of the great debate between the Pope and a feeble old man.
Ok, I got the humor and perception. Now on to the other items…
Two things define you. Your patience when you have nothing and your attitude when you have everything. We certainly have seen a lot of horrible attitudes by the 1% and those that have power and control in this world. I think enough other people have spoken about that so my direction is going toward patience.
Patience lead me to a search of what today is.
- November is Native American Month. There is something there…
- Today is Orphan Sunday — there is a lot to talk about there; but that doesn’t feel the topic I need to discuss.
- It is Saxophone day — can’t bring much on that topic that is Spiritual.
- Daylight savings ended == way too much complaining about that and I want to be positive.
- Zero Tasking Day –???? a resounding NO on that topic.
- Well it is National Nachos day… but it isn’t right. so I did a little further digging and then I found it:
The United Nations named today as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.
Boy do I have a lot to say on this subject. The environment is the unpublicized victim of war. Over the last 60 years 40% of all internal conflicts has been linked to the exploitation of natural resources.
Where do we draw the line? The Sioux tribes people have learned that they are not powerless and their peaceful efforts are paying off. They are shinning a light on how big moneyed interests with political clout steamroll the disadvantaged in order to get what they need. Or more correctly WANT.
Water is life.
If you have any doubts just ask the residents of Flint Michigan. This country has a terrible track record of doing the right thing when it comes to our natural resources. I was horrified when I read the attitude of Nestle chairman Peter Brabeck wanting to privatize water and that it is not considered a human right.
I started to think “why is it that alternative energy options are squashed?” I can answer that with one word — three letters: OIL.
Major battles have been in Libya, Iraq and Syria over it. Another natural resource that should be available to all controlled by a few. Makes you wonder doesn’t it?
So I started to do more reading, I trust Spirit when it puts something in my path and my curiosity takes me in all sorts of direction. The next direction was our constitution and another pointer to Native Americans. I learned that this foundation of our nation was based on the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations with a major piece missing.
Seven Generation Principle.
Every decision be it personal governmental or corporate; we must consider how it will affect the 7 generations in the future.
Wow! Imagine if we all did that. A generation is roughly 25 years.
Then I found the Indigenous Native American Prophecy that was made 175 years ago (or 7 generations):
What is Patience?
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With others – is Respect
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With yourself – is Confidence
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With God – is Faith
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Don’t think that because you haven’t succeeded in your goals yet, you never will.
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Don’t assume that success is a race and that the winners are first past the line.
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Don’t conclude that just because you can’t see evidence of growth; your not growing
- Believe in yourself. Your Goals. Your DREAMS!
- Don’t presume to know how things will turn out
- Have joy in the journey and let the outcomes take care of themselves
One can desire to achieve a better future and still be at peace where there are at this very moment! Remember these two things are not mutually exclusive of each other.
So much like this lecture, this quote by Steve Jobs puts some insight to Patience, Persistence, and Perspective: