Condensed Wisdom

Proverbs are time honored wisdom in highly condensed form.

They express the hard won wisdom of the people and culture which have created them, and they are effective because they are based on keen observation of human nature and behavior, and the society and world which are their context. A good way to understand the soul of a people and their wisdom tradition is to become acquainted with their proverbs.

Today's words of wisdom from the Native American tradition are from a collection of proverbs contained in a lovely little book I recommend to you, entitled "The Soul Would Have No Rainbow if the Eyes Had No Tears" by Guy A. Zona. I am sure you will find them vivid, memorable, and well worth pondering, as I have.

Know that we are eager to share our gifts in the name of love. (Seneca)

Treachery breaks the chain of friendship, but truth makes it brighter than ever. (Conestoga)

Lying is a great shame. ((Sioux)

Let no one speak ill of the absent. (Hopi)

Listening to a liar is like drinking bad water. (tribe unknown)

Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins. (northern Cheyenne)

One foe is too many and a hundred friends too few. (Hopi)

Do not hate or wrong your neighbor, for it is not your neighbor you wrong, but yourself. (Pima)

If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself. ((Minquass)

There is no death, only a change of worlds. (Duwamish)

All religions are but stepping stones back to God. (Pawnee)

Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.

Don't walk ahead of me, I may not follow.

Walk beside me that we may be as one. (Ute)

Creation is ongoing. (Lakota)

Don't let yesterday use up too much of today. (Cherokee)

If you are as wise as a serpent, you can afford to be as harmless as a dove. (Cheyenne)

The smarter you are, the more you need God to protect you from thinking you know everything.

(Pima)

Listen to the voice of nature, for it holds treasures for you. (Huron)

When you move away from nature, your heart grows hard. (Lakota)

Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it. (Arapahoe)

All dreams spin out from the same web. (Hopi)

It is no longer good enough to cry peace. We must act peace, live peace, and live in peace.

(Shenandoah)

There can never be peace between nations until it is first known that true peace is within the souls

of human beings. (Oglala Sioux)

Be satisfied with needs instead of wants. (Tenton Sioux)

Rituals must be performed with good and pure hearts. (Hopi)

We are all one child, spinning through Mother Sky. (Shawnee)

Sharing and giving are the ways of God. (Sauk)

When you have a talent of any kind, use it, take care of it, guard it. (Sauk)

There are many ways to God. (Arapahoe)

My response:

Great Mystery, Source of all wisdom, wherever it is found,

may the wisdom of these proverbs live in my mind and sink into my heart

that I may live as wisely and well as those who have passed them on to us.

Amen.