May/June 2008

Hau kola na tiyospaye (Hello friends & extended family),

Welcome to all new Circle members!  Each section of the Circle of Nations newsletter is written 'facing' one of the four sacred winds, beginning with the east, then the south, west and finally the north.  This is to honor the old ways.  It is to teach and to help us to focus and find the center.  I have conceived the Native Circle website in the same spirit.  I welcome you all to the Circle....

EAST - Wiyohinyanpata - Yellow (Four Winds)
The power of hope....

What is hope?  Hope is the ability to see beyond restrictions and limitations.  It is the choice to see an obstacle as an opportunity.  Hope is the fire that burns inside for the promise of tomorrow, even in the face of adversity today.  Hope is faith and belief, unwavering and unshaken by struggle or challenge.  It is the power by which we transform ourselves and the world we live in.  And hope is the seed we plant now, which will bear fruit for those who come after us.  Hope is the essence of all great dreams and the shining light at the end of all difficult journeys.  Hope sees possibilities, it envisions a better way, and calls us to a higher place.  A place of divine perspective.  A place where we can step outside ourselves, and get a better view of the world and our place in it.  Hope is the catalyst by which all positive change begins.  And lastly, at least for this written expression, hope is a choice.  Granted, sometimes a hard one, but it is a choice nonetheless....

Ever feel like just throwing in the towel?  Like the last straw has been pulled and you just want to go live in a cave and tell the world to leave you alone?  Has it all ever just made you feel a little bitter and pessimistic?  We all feel that way sometimes.  And it can become a habit to dwell on the things that aggravate, disrupt and annoy us.  In fact, in western society, it can be the norm to focus on the negative side of things.  A look at the evening news, a newspaper or a tabloid magazine rack and it is easy to see; negativity is news.  So....  With all that in mind, I would like to humbly offer another perspective....

From childhood I have spent lots of time contemplating in nature’s quiet places.  I went for walks alone, or with my mother when she gathered morel mushrooms, or with my father hunting.  I understand and am intimately and deeply connected to the way of nature.  I have been there when my father made a kill, be it a deer, a squirrel or a rabbit.  And by my own reasoning coupled with my father’s example, I have learned about the cycle of life, the balance of predator and prey, and the importance of respect in these matters.  I have been both hunter and observer, and regardless of which role I assumed, I have always stood in awe, wonder and humble respect at the natural world and all its beauty and function.  We really are all related, in strength and in weakness.  I have long contemplated these truths.  And whenever I find myself in need of some rejuvenation and grounding, I go outside into nature somewhere, and spend time being quiet.  Always, without exception, I return to my life with a profound peace, inner stillness and renewed hope....

I know there is hurt in this world.  I know there is pain, and loss and chaos and destruction of every sort.  Negative realities can be found almost anywhere.  But balance is found in that place in the center, where we can acknowledge the negative, and yet choose to focus on the positive.  Whether the optimist says the glass is half full or the pessimist says it is half empty doesn’t change how much water is in the glass.  The only difference in the two views is attitude, and trust me, attitude can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  So we can look for the ugly, or we can look for the beauty.  And we can choose fear, or we can choose hope.  It is up to us.  Just remember, which attitude and outlook you choose will shape your life, and has the power to change the world.  May we all come to the place where we can choose hope.  There is beauty in this world.  There is.  And that is enough to fill my heart with the powerful spirit of hope....


SOUTH - Itokagata - Red (Red Earth)
A word from Peggy....
Been awhile since the last newsletter and the really cool thing is that in the last 7 weeks that we have been out touring, I have met so many of you.    It is great to know how connected we all are thru this newsletter.  There are these very cool quantum threads that hold us all together.
So here I am again swinging on a cyber quantum thread bringing my thoughts to you.
The media has really gone nuts reporting scary bad news…. wow!!  Last week I saw an expose’ on how much the price of a hot dog barbecue has risen in the past year… like 9% or something, I don’t know.  Maybe if you just put on one squirt less catsup and eat three less chips.  Hold the extra pickle.   I’m not making light of the bad economy, but there needs to be a balance.  How about a bit of good news?  I don’t think this recession thing means a whole lot to my buddy Joe.
He ain’t had a lot anyway.  He sells his art and makes enough money to buy diapers for his grandson, who he raises, puts a little gas in his ride and keeps his cell phone from being shut off.
His art is awesome, real plains art (not made in China).  His art tells stories.  You want to learn about Indians, spend a day with Joe at his booth at any powwow or art show.  You will see him laughing, drinking coffee, connecting to and uplifting other artists.  Giving away more than he sells.  This is the good news stuff to me.  When I see him coming back with a couple of necklaces he bought for his granddaughters so he could help some other artist out, while he hasn’t made but a sale or two himself. This is good news to me!!  I see honor and generosity and hope in these gestures.  I can tell you that spending 10 hours in 102 degrees with Joe at an art show on Sat. has made me feel a whole lot better about the world.  You won’t learn about these Indian traits at a museum or at an Indian Village but I assure you that honor, hope, patience, humor and generosity are not lost somewhere in ancient Indian burial sites.  They are alive and well in many of the Indian friends I know and love today!    
Hey, don’t let the news programs set your reality.
Keep loving and giving and the circle will continue to ripple thru eternity...
love ya all a whole bunch
Peggy
Red Earth
The Official JTH Site


WEST - Wiyohpeyata - Black or Blue (We are STILL Here!)
The power of honor....
What does it mean to have honor?  As I look around these days, it seems that fewer and fewer people are living lives enriched with honor.  In fact, many do not know what honor even means.  I have watched adults disrespect Elders, grown children disrespect their parents, leaders lie for personal gain, and modern businesses completely shirk their moral and ethical responsibilities.  It seems, in many ways, that honor is a virtue that is nearly laughable by today’s so-called ‘modern, civilized’ standards.  If you can even call them standards!  Now I’m am not trying to depress anyone here!  But this world could use a healthy dose of honor.  Honor is the sum of many parts.  It is one part respect, two parts integrity, two parts responsibility, and one part honesty with a pinch of humility and wisdom thrown in for spice.  In short, honor means when you say you’ll do something, you do it.  Honor means you follow through in all your commitments, not just some of them or even most of them - all of them.  It means when you do a job, you do it right, even if it entails applying more effort.  Honor means never taking anything or anyone for granted.  Honor despises prejudice.  Honor means standing up for what’s right, even when no one else will stand with you.  Honor is not only tipping a waiter or waitress, but being kind and gracious to them because they are serving you.  Honor is not taking just because you can.  Honor is giving even when you feel you cannot.  Honor is all of this and much, much more.  And remember, honor is best exercised in the seemingly mundane activities of life.  Returning a book someone lent you, or repaying that 10 bucks to the friend who lent it to you - without them asking about it.  Honor is a way of life.  It is the heartbeat at the center of the Red Road.  Find honor, and you will find your path on the good Red Road in this life.  For a world where human beings practice honor, is a better world indeed....      

NORTH - Waziyata - White  (Words of Wisdom)
Some of my tidbits....

Think first, speak second....

Live to learn well, and you will learn to live well....

There are no little things....

Use your two ears twice as much as your one mouth, and you may one day be wise....


May Wakantanka encircle you and yours with faith to believe, hope for the future, and love for all....     

As always, in the spirit of mending the sacred hoop of the nations of the world
Your Oglala Lakota friend and brother,
John Two-Hawks
http://www.nativecircle.com
http://www.johntwohawks.com
Reprinting of this Circle of Nations newsletter is encouraged!  All I ask is that it be printed in its entirety, with no changes, and that I be given proper credit, unless I have otherwise okayed it.  Wopila (great thanks)!