To each other as people
To the Earth mother of all, greetings and thanks
To all the waters, waterfalls, and rain, rivers and oceans, greetings and thanks
To all the fish life, greetings and thanks
The grains and greens, beans and berries as one we send thanks to food plants
Medicine herbs of the world and their keepers, greetings and thanks
The trees, for shelter and shade, fruit and beauty, greetings and thanks
To all birds, large and small, joyful greetings and thanks
And from the four directions, the four winds, thank you for purifying the air we breath and giving us strength, greetings
The thunderers, our grandfathers in the sky. We hear your voices. Greetings and thanks
And now the sun for the light of a new day and all the fires of life, greetings and thanks,
To our oldest grandmother the Moon, leader of women all over the world
And the stars for their mystery, beauty and guidance, greetings and thanks
To our teachers from all times, reminding us how to live in harmony, greetings and thanks.
And for all gifts of creation, for all the love around us, greetings and thanks.
And for that which is forgotten, we remember. We end our words.
Now our minds are one. Prayer of daily thanksgiving inspired by the Onondaga Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee. A poster with this prayer of thanksgiving hangs on the wall of my office, right over my computer where I can look at it each day. It is at once both a beautiful example of simple gratitude–gratitude for the most basic of blessings–and of the profound magnificence of the world around us. For everything around us we give thanks. Simple yet vitally important. The prayer above addresses every element that sustains our lives. Greetings and thanks.
At the end of the day, no matter how powerful, technologically advanced, high and mighty we humans think we are (especially those of us in “first world,” “developed,” industrialized nations), everything really still comes down to Mother Nature. We are subject to her magnificent power and are small and helpless in the face of it. One need only look at the awesome power of storms, floods, fire, and earthquakes and other natural disasters to remind us that in the scheme of things we are but a small part of the planet.
Yesterday’s snow-sleet-freezing rain combination that hit the greater DC, Maryland, Northern Virginia region left trees, power lines, and roads coated in ice. It knocked out power on campus (we sat in the dark at work for a few hours before it was restored) and wrought havoc all across the area. Tonight we are expecting three to six inches of snow and as of my writing this campus will open late for the second day in a row. In spite of the havoc it caused, it was beautiful to look at. So it’s not just about the awesome power of nature, but also it’s beauty, it’s complexities, it’s wonder.
Greetings and thanks for grandmother earth, grandfather sky, for the connections between all peoples and all beings. I am grateful for the reminder of how awesome this place we call home really is. The horticulturist and educator Liberty Hyde Bailey said, “It is a marvelous planet on which we ride. It is a great privilege to live thereon, to partake in the journey, and to experience its goodness.” And so it is, and I am grateful.
