Skywalker Storyteller Works

#18 OF 52 GIRLS

Posted on December 3, 2014 Leave a Comment

This week’s creative collaboration.

Honor the Living – Native American Heritage Day

Posted on November 28, 2014 7 Comments

The International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers

The 28^th day of the eleventh month of the year 2320 – around the world the drums beat and the earth shakes with the rhythm of dancing feet. The original ones, the keepers of sacred cultures, called “the people” in their hundreds of languages, celebrate their success for saving this planet earth and creating a flourishing abundance. Through their efforts, work, ceremonies, prayers, those who had been forgotten, abused, ridiculed were the peoples who held on and led the way to preserve the earth for the survival of humans.

When the electrical grids failed, when the coastal cities flooded, when the nuclear accidents created skeleton landscapes, it was the Hopi in the mesas, the Navajo in the Canyons, and all of the other nations spread in the hills and deserts of what was known as the USA who had food, traditional methods of survival, and spiritual ceremonies for protection. Around the world, the millions of Africans in rural villages, the Indians in South America, the Tibetans and Phillipines in villages were able to survive. So many of these indigenous people were accustomed to making do that when those who had lived in material and technological excess became lost and desperate the keepers of the Sacred Ways showed the world how to live.

Maybe this is a utopian dream or maybe it could be our future. Today is Native American Heritage Day and I believe that this day will grow in significance in the coming centuries. On November 28, 2008, President George W. Bush formally recognized this as a national day to “pay tribute to Native Americans for their many contributions to the United States.” The bill was introduced by Democratic California Congressman Joe Baca, and was supported by the National Indian Gaming Association and 184 federally recognized Native American nations. This day is the culmination of November as Native American Heritage month.

Last week, I had the good fortune to listen to a few speakers during the on-line 2014 Global Indigenous Wisdom Summit. Elders and youth, activists, and educators spoke of their work to preserve traditional sacred ways, values, and life styles of indigenous people around the world. All of the speakers stressed the importance of respecting and protecting our earth and all of its creatures and elements

Two speakers particularly resonated with me. Audri Scott Williams grew up knowing of her Native American and African heritage. She has led walks around the world for peace several times, and was a major force in coordinating the International Meeting of Indigenous elders, Hidden Seeds of Natural Healing & Curing, organized by the Global Indigenous Initiative, in California, this summer. Winona LaDuke , environmental and Native American activist, ended the summit with her advise to follow the green way. I had the good fortune to meet Winona years ago, in Austin, Texas when she spoke at a gathering for Native American women. Her environmental work has been an inspiration and motivation for many for decades.

So, in between shopping, take a little time to visit some of these websites to learn more about the people who were, and remain, the original settlers and residents of this country currently called the United States of America.

Native Languages.org is an on-line resources “dedicated to preserving and promoting American Indian tribal languages, particularly through the use of Internet technology.” It provides hundreds of links to gain in-depth understanding, not only of Native American languages, but also their culture and history.

The Nawt-sa-maat Alliance, protect the sacred.org/ “is an empowered coalition of Coast Salish Indigenous Peoples, environmental, interfaith, and youth activists, and impassioned community members who love the land and waters of the Salish Sea and call it home. The Nawtsamaat Alliance is calling for unprecedented unified action to protect and restore the Salish Sea and the communities surrounding it.”

The International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers “represent a global alliance of prayer, education and healing for our Mother Earth, and all her inhabitants.” They travel around the world educating, performing ceremonies, and praying to protect the earth and preserve the sacred indigenous ways.

#17 OF 52 GIRLS

Posted on November 26, 2014 Leave a Comment

A Happy Holiday wish to you and yours from the Paynes.

ZINCCOMICS

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A State of Grace

Posted on November 25, 2014 6 Comments

Although, Thanksgiving was originally created to celebrate an event that has been distorted by history, now, in this century, we can begin to transmute it into a true time to give thanks. Let’s look at gratitude as a state of grace.The 1999 Encarta World English Dictionary, St. Martin’s Press, defines grace as: 1. Elegance, beauty, and smoothness of form or movement; 2. Dignified, polite, and decent behavior; 3. Generosity of spirit, capacity to tolerate, accommodate, or forgive people; 4. Prayer at meal times; 5. Pleasing and admirable characteristic; 6. In Christianity infinite love, mercy, favor and good will shown humankind by God.

We can begin with gratitude for the growing and elegant movement of people around the world to save this earth and protect its beauty. Special thanks at this time should be given to our indigenous peoples who have united in opposition to the Keystone Pipeline. And special thanks should be given to The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers and The Global Indigenous Initiative for their special efforts to preserve what is most precious on this earth by working for peace and protecting indigenous practices and values. They actively work to maintain sacred living on this planet.

Not seen or heard in our daily “news” are the millions of dignified people daily offering decent behavior to help victims of violence, to care for people burdened by disease, to do the unending, unrecognized work of peace building.

We can also be grateful not only for our individual capacity to tolerate people who are different from us, to bear unfavorable or uncomfortable conditions, and to forgive people and nations for wrongs. Our actions of generosity, sharing the kind word, the helpful hand, the compassionate conversation deserve our gratitude too.

Every meal we eat should begin with at least the thought of gratitude, not only for the food, but also for the hard working, underpaid people who are responsible for growing, harvesting, and getting the food to us. Many of us, not only in the USA, but around the world can be grateful for our sources of food and water. This gratitude should be expressed by our continuous efforts to protect the environment, to assure our soil and water are not contaminated with chemicals from oil exploration and corporate insecticides and herbicides. We can also work to change the economic system that causes food scarcities when we actually, now, have more than enough food on this earth to feed every single person.

We can be grateful for all of the people we know who embody grace in their lives through their actions, their words, and their work with pleasing and admirable characteristics. We appreciate these people, from the kind nursing assistant, doing the caring no one else wants to do, to the always smiling and patient bus driver, to the dedicated and patient teacher. The people who do the daily hard work and seldom receive a thank you. We should remember to be the ones to say, “Thanks, I appreciate your pleasant service.”

Finally, the concept of grace as infinite love, mercy, favor, and good will bestowed by a sacred source, is not limited to Christianity, grace is part of Judaism and Islam. In Buddhism, grace manifests as the blessings of bodhichitta, the compassionate wish to realize enlightenment for all beings not just oneself. This idea of sacred blessings bestowed by a source of benevolent compassion is found all over the world, in all traditions, religions, and even in secular society. Kindness, compassion, and good will are our innate sacred qualities that can be shared without the need of a religious doctrine.

So, as we gather around the Thanksgiving table with friends and family make this a gathering of grace. Let our heartfelt thanks transform this from a day of unbridled over indulgence into a thoughtful day of gratitude for our abundance and our responsibility to protect and share it with all.