“Life will go on as long as there is someone to sing, to dance, to tell stories and to listen.” —Chief Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Seneca Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy.
In this address from 21 years ago, Oren Lyons –his story was of how his people had lived, a prophecy for the future that was already happening.
We were told that there would come a time when the world would be covered with smoke, and that it would take our elders and our children. It was difficult to comprehend at the time, but now all we have to do is but to walk outside to experience that statement. We were told that there would come a time when we could not find clean water to wash ourselves, to cook our foods, to make our medicines, and to drink. And there would be disease and great suffering. Today we can see this and we peer into the future with great apprehension. We were told there would come a time when, tending our gardens, we would pull up our plants and the vines would be empty. Our precious seed would begin to disappear. We were instructed that we would see a time when young men would pace back and forth in front of their chiefs and leaders in defiance and confusion.
He tells the story of what has happened to his people and their land and then says:
So then, what is the message I bring to you today? Is it our common future? It seems to me that we are living in a time of prophecy, a time of definitions and decisions. We are the generation with the responsibilities and the option to choose the The Path of Life for the future of our children. Or the life and path which defies the Laws of Regeneration.
He says it is not too late if we change our direction. With the direction we’re going leading to more dire predictions, let’s take some ideas for what we can do individually and collectively for life to go on. Though the threats are daunting, I could argue that each action, each step, each story, song, dance, matters for our own living and the bigger world.
Perhaps each courtesy, act of love, conservation of energy from oil, re-use of a product, petition signed, charity given, forgiveness, seed planted….if each of us noticed each little thing we do, we might start to see the possibility of a story with momentum in a life giving direction. By our actions and our voices can we influence the story for our children and generations to come?
Now is the time.
Honoring Oren Lyons who is good to listen to. Here’s one time he told the story of his people and how they came to live the way they did, in peace.
photo courtesy of: Dyer, Deborah. pcfnw017.jpg. 1/1/1976. Pics4Learning. 11 Jan 2015 <http://pics.tech4learning.com>