Today Was a Good Day

Today was a good day. I am with my family, and Tipper has found her way home again. She is a puppy, like we have never seen her before. She is one of us, and her soul feels good in our arms. I can smell the breath of angels in her downy hair. She shines bright in our hearts. It is our blessing to have her here.

My family is good to be near. I am happy to be alive with them. I know they love me. What a wonderful day this day is. The sun has shown it's warmth upon my back. I have seen lightning in the clouds. Heaven's tears have fallen from the sky. The earth has been kind.

Father spirit, fill me with thanksgiving for all that you have brought into this life that I may learn. Mother earth, remind me of your many wonders. Thank you for this life ... for the peas, the corn, the potatoes, the trees, the grass, the flowers, the birds, and the bees. Thank you ... thank you.

Pappy

A Song for You 02

All your dreams will surely come true someday.

Never stop dreaming. Never give up.

There's a shiny pot of gold waiting

Somewhere over the rainbow.

It's really up to you.

With All My Love,

Pappy

Genius of Thought

In my opinion, no one could "say it better" than Ralph Waldo Emerson. I believe if ever there was a human being whose writing was often inspired by the Great Spirit, it must be this man. Below is an excerpt from his Self Reliance essay. Read and contemplate the nature of your own thoughts - gifts from the infinite mind.

I read the other day some verses written by an eminent painter which were original and not conventional. The soul always hears an admonition in such lines, let the subject be what it may.  The sentiment they instill is of more value than any thought they may contain.  To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men — that is genius.  Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost — and our first thought is rendered back to us by the trumpets of the Last Judgment.

Familiar as the voice of the mind is to each, the highest merit we ascribe to Moses, Plato, and Milton is, that they set at naught books and traditions, and spoke not what men but what they thought.  A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.  Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this.  They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humored inflexibility then most when the whole cry of voices is on the other side.  Else, to-morrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

My hope for those who follow me is that they recognize the genius of their own minds without permission to do so, and come to live in the light which shines from their own hearts, without shame.

With All My Love,
Pappy

Faces of Religion - FLDS 01

God is not lost and neither are you. Search your own heart, where his eternal spirit lives. Seek his voice calling in the cool of an evening wind. Feel that he is watching all through the eyes of beautiful friends. To find God is to know him as the father of your spirit - as your source, from which you can never be separated by time, space, or deed.

No one can possibly know what is in your heart - what is born in you from eternity. Each living part of the universe is a particle of the greater whole. We are one with the all - with God. Keep this bit of sunshine as a most precious gem. Know it for yourself. Treasure it.

Always question. Never relinquish your right to unbelief. The world is filled with men and women who have given over their minds to the whim of prophets, preachers, and ancestral traditions. You have no need to do the same.

With All My Love,
Pappy

Science, God, & the Big Bang

"The scientist is possessed by the sense of universal causation... His religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection."

~ Albert Einstein ~

The most popular theory of our universe's origin centers on a cosmic cataclysm unmatched in all of history - the big bang. This theory was born of the observation that other galaxies are moving away from our own at great speed, in all directions, as if they had all been propelled by an ancient explosive force.

Scientists believe that before the big bang, the entire vastness of the observable universe, including all of its matter and radiation, was compressed into a hot, dense mass just a few millimeters across. This nearly incomprehensible state is theorized to have existed for just a fraction of the first second of time, before providing the initial thrust to have set the universe into perpetual motion.

Big bang proponents suggest that some 10 billion to 20 billion years ago, a massive blast allowed all the universe's known matter and energy - even space and time themselves - to spring from some ancient and unknown type of energy. I find my hope restored in the honesty of mankind's quest for knowledge, in that science has come to a conclusion which allows us to embrace science and God in the same thought.

"Study to show thyself approved

A workman that needeth not be ashamed

rightly dividing the truth."

~ II Timothy 2:15 ~

Never Give Up the Search,

Pappy

The Heart of a Child

Let's step back in time. It's now Saturday the 10th day of February. The year is 2007, and my children are playing outside. The temperature has finally warmed up to freezing here. Morgan - she is eight - and the youngest, Melena - she just turned five. I love them both. They are children of light and love. They make my day, almost every day. 

My baby, Melena, has big medicine with me. I am completely in love and have long since given up trying to hide it. I think she figured this out last year sometime – the situation has worsened. She shines on everyone she meets, and they shine back at her. Her mother and I call her “Sunshine”. She is a special little light.

Today she made me look inside myself, as she so often does. She and Morgan were playing, while I messed around in my office that overlooks the back yard. I saw them coming my way at a full gallop. Melena obviously had something in her cupped hands, and she looked distressed, in her own special stressed-out way. The "something" turned out to be a dead mouse.

They both burst into my office declaring that Tipper, the dog, had killed a poor mouse and they wanted permission to bury it in the yard somewhere. I laughed a little but quickly stifled the chuckle upon realizing the seriousness of the demise of this mouse, in their minds. I told them they could bury it inside the fence of the garden. Off they blasted, mouse in hand, to the garden.

Ten minutes passed, and here they came again – full bore. This time they produced a blank piece of paper and a stick. Melena asked that I write something“special” on the paper and tape it to the stick, so she could “put it in the dirt next to the mouse.” Did I mention they had given the mouse a name by now – Rapunzel? I obliged as follows: “RIP Here lays the body of Rapunzel the mouse.” I taped it to the stick, and away they flew once more. I thought that was the end of it, but no.

Here they came again. Melena took me by the hand and asked if I would come and pray with them at the “grave”. Of course, I couldn't say no. We made it to the fresh dig, and I noticed that not only had they buried Rapunzel and put a marker out for her – they had also built a barrier of broken twigs around the grave to ward off potential intruders. Great care had been taken in the burial. 

We held hands and knelt beside the grave. Melena asked if she could lead the prayer. Morgan and I agreed readily, and in her tiny sweet voice, she offered these words with great care:

“Mouse, I am sorry you died.

We made you a bed.

I hope you are comfortable.

Amen”

Dear reader, I am not a mouse lover. I have trapped hundreds and never given it a second thought. Thus, what I have to tell you is out of character but nevertheless true. Suddenly, I felt some kind of unexpected compassion for Rapunzel, lying there dead, with eyes closed forever. I looked down into the green eyed, blond haired, five-year-old face of my baby girl and saw the purity of her heart.

I felt a bit ashamed of myself for having grown old and callous – for having allowed the life and death, I had witnessed through the years, to sear my heart. I wanted to be like her. In a flash, I lost myself in remembrance and felt five again. It felt good. Melena has taught me many lessons. This is the one she taught me in February of 2007.

For My Children,

Love life. Respect life. Honor life - always.

With All My Love,
Pappy

Cry a Little

Have you ever thought much about your tears - how they swell around your heart and fall from flooded eyes? Ever wonder why they feel so good no matter what may have summoned them here? When you feel them rising upward, through the marrow of your soul, breath in, breath out - take it in ... and cry a little. Tears of joy or tears of pain will wash your soul with heaven's rain. 

My father sang a song when I was small. I loved it then; I love it still. The sound of that music carries me home to roots in the south - to a time long ago. One line sings, "Don't let Satan see your tears. Learn to smile through your fears." Now that I have grown into a different kind of man, it don't matter who sees these tears. They've cleansed my heart over many years. 

The best of all the crying times have come my way in moments of truth. From out of the blue, my chest has been filled to an overflow - the feel of bursting forth - too much inside. I've called those moments the "bubbly warm glow". Nothing can replace it - nothing feels the same. You'll know it when it happens - in the still of night or middle of the day. My best advice - when truth shows up, or you're feeling down and brittle, is to cry, children, cry a little.

For My Children,

Pappy

A Song for You 01

If I could sing you a song on the days when you feel blue,

It would be this, my favorite song. I'll have George sing it for you.

Wherever you may roam. Whatever you may do.

Remember, love is in the air, and the sun will shine again soon.

With All My Love,

Pappy

Native American Code of Ethics

Each morning upon rising, and each evening before sleeping, give thanks to the Great Mother and Father for the life within you - for all life. Give thanks for the good things the Creator has given you and for the opportunity to grow each day. Consider your thoughts and actions of the past day and seek for the courage and strength to be a better person today than you were yesterday. Seek out gifts within yourself that may be used for the benefit of others.

Respect means to feel or show honor or esteem for someone or something; to consider the well being of, or to treat someone or something with deference or courtesy. Showing respect is a basic law of life.

• Treat every person from the tiniest child to the oldest elder with respect at all times.

• Special respect should be given to Elders, Parents, Teachers, and Community Leaders.

• No person should be made to feel "put down" by you; avoid hurting other hearts as you would avoid a deadly poison.

• Speak in a soft voice, especially when you are in the presence of Elders, strangers or others to whom special respect is due.

• Do not speak unless invited to do so at gatherings where Elders are present (except to ask what is expected of you, should you be in doubt). 

• Never speak about others in a negative way, whether they are present or not. 

• Treat the earth and all of her aspects as your mother. Show deep respect for the mineral world, the plant world, and the animal world. Do nothing to pollute our Mother, rise up with wisdom to defend her. 

• Listen with courtesy to what others say, even if you feel that what they are saying is worthless. Listen with your heart.

Be truthful at all times with yourself and others. Let the light of truth shine through you by your words and deeds.

Receive strangers and outsiders with a loving heart and as members of the human family. Treat your guests with honor and consideration. Give of your best food, your best blankets, the best part of your house, and your best service to your guests. 

All the races and tribes in the world are like the different colored flowers of a meadow - all are beautiful. As children of the Creator they must all be shown respect.  They are your brothers and sisters.

To serve others, to be of some use to family, community, nation, and the world is the most noble duty. Do not fill your life entirely with your own affairs and forget the most important tasks. True happiness comes to those who dedicate their lives to the service of others.

Observe moderation and balance in all things. Know those things that lead to your well-being, and those things that lead to your destruction. 

Listen to and follow the guidance given to your heart. Expect guidance to come in many forms - in prayer, in dreams, in times of quiet solitude, and in the words and deeds of wise Elders and friends.

Think About It

Certain religions have actually convinced people that there is an invisible man, living in the sky, who watches everything you do, every minute of every day of your life. And he has a list of ten things that he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place full of fire and smoke and ash and torture where he will send you to suffer and burn and scream and cry forever and ever, until the end of time!

... But he loves you. He loves you, and he needs money! ~ George Carlin

For My Children,

Never believe anything simply because the majority does.

Never believe anything simply because someone you love does.

Never believe anything simply because its been around a long time.

THINK BEFORE YOU BELIEVE!

With All My Love,

Pappy

Teach Us To Pray

Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind, Whose breath gives life to all the world. Hear me now, for I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people. Help me to remain calm and strong in the face of all that comes towards me. Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock. Help me seek pure thoughts and act with the intention of helping others. Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me. I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy - Myself Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes. So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame. Chief Yellow Lark - Lakota Tribe For My Children, Your prayers go somewhere into the ether. The universe responds by the natural law of cause and effect. Learn to pray. Learn to acknowledge that there is a cause more substantive than the tiny spec that you are in time and space. Give thanks and show reverence to the source from which you came. You may never understand it all on this side of life, but it will do your spirit good to acknowledge the father of your soul - whomever or whatever that may be. With All My Love,Pappy

No Fear - A Silly Rhyme

There is no heaven, for what would we do?
Sing carols forever, until we are blue?

Fear no hell, or its red hot flames.
For who you are, there's no one to blame.

Live life to its fullest. Get all that you can.
The next life is coming in spite of your plans.

Follow your heart. Hear the voice in the wind.
Respect all life and make millions of friends.

There's nothing coming, you can't explore.

No death, no parting, no hell to ignore.

Send Satan packing, his fiddle and all.

Tell Jesus hello, and let's have a ball.

I'm sure he would want it and Krishna too.

Life's too short to be down and blue.

Get your ass in gear, and make life a splash.

I'll meet you in forever, and we'll have a blast.

A Silly Rhyme by Your Pappy


For My Children,

Chase fear from your mind. We are here to learn that there's nothing to fear. Live your lives with no regrets. Everything you do - everything you choose, will carry with it a lesson you will pass down to the lives that follow you. There is nothing more stifling to the human spirit than fear - just lose it.  

With All My Love,

Pappy

Amazing Grace

My life was once spent wandering a sea of thunderous clouds and riding an unfriendly tide of voices inside the fragile grey - no light aboard my ship, save the occasional glimmer of what was once a soul. Many years were spent in frantic search of warmly lit harbors to call a home.

One long journey led only to another. No drink satisfied the thirst of hell's own hand. Each meal I took left, desperately, more hunger than before. The search for light, for warmth, for safety, and God, went on - miserably on. There was no land; if only I could have known where I was - where I was going; if only I could have known I would arrive someday - any day would have been fine with me.

And then, there was light in the darkness - a familiar, shrouded in golden locks beckoned me, come through the misty haze. I was alone no more. She was there. I knew her from a past. It was clear that I had loved her before the earth was formed. She is my sister, my lover, my friend, and mother. She is your mother too - more precious than you know. Together we have walked, hand in hand, for the last years of our lives - the only years of my life.

And then there was you, and you, and you - my babies. Now its clear what I must do. I must share the endless journey of a wretch like me. I must tell you of amazing grace and what I know is true. Listen to me children. It takes light to get you through.

Where is it we're going? We'll have to wait and see, but as for now I'm certain we are on our way to somewhere, and we will surely get there - someday - any day is fine with me. From this day until then - until we meet again, let the light in my heart shine through you and be happy - exceedingly happy indeed!

A Look Back by Your Pappy  

With All My Love,

Pappy