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"We come to this circle with open arms, hoping for best for our families and ourselves. We listen to our leaders. We obey even when it does not sit well in our hearts. We condemn outside world for wanting our ways of life and peace, yet many of us grasp their ways and have no peace. We do for each other, we work day and night and then come to circle for peace in our lives.
Maybe sometimes we forget how big this circle of life is, maybe we put our ways too high on a pedestal and cannot leave them behind when we come to circle. Maybe we forget how important our children our to our futures, our mother earth, our very sanity. Maybe we forget our veterans who in circle we honor and forget when we are outside. Maybe we learn from our teachers, but they should not be teaching. Maybe there are good teachers and we are not listening.
Quiet now, listen to music of wind, birds, smell blossoms, close your eyes and sniff goodness of land, blue sky, warm earth. Keep your eyes closed and imagine a blue circle. Imagine that is us. Now imagine all pow wows in nation going on at same time on that blue circle. Make circle bigger, and bigger yet.
The circle of life does not stop when you leave circle of pow wow. The circle of life is as mighty as four winds, bigger than sky. If you have chosen to be a part of circle then remember circle is all of earth, and each person and animal on it. The Creator commands us to be caretakers of earth. The trees, animals, our old and young, our veterans and mothers, but most of all our neighbors."
Remember we are riding on good ship Lollipop, and it is up to us to make it better, if children and teens are going to survive they must believe there is hope to change things they believe they cannot change. Each of us can make a difference, one voice is all it takes. If you make it a billion voices, it will change dramatically, no teacher, no church, no political system can do that. Only you - parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and friends can do that. You can change anything. Just cry out. Believe me, I do it each week and see those changes.
Maybe media, maybe our leaders have forgotten these things. Let us hope that you remember them, you teach them to your children, because they our are future, give them hope now to accomplish that goal, give them hope they need to survive. ---
Randy Redhawk has written four novels and two self help books under the name Ryan Orr, including "Beyond the Oasis". His free lance articles have appeared in several Gannet newspapers, as well as the New York Times and Chicago Tribune and other major publications under Randy Weldon. He is a published Herpetologist and worked for many Zoos before becoming a minister.