The Medicine wheel

Old Native American wisdom. We need to gather as one people to save earth and all people.

 
 

Wisdom of the Medicine wheel
 

I have been  lucky.  Many kind Native Americans took me under their wing and taught me how to find peace.
 
At the Mall I went to the so-call Native American store. A Middle Eastern man tried to sell me a Chinese made items.  I touched a Medicine Wheel.
 
I told him:  "A proper Medicine Wheel has the power of the four winds."

I touched a  Dream Catcher." A real one would protect your spirit and keep bad dreams away."
 
He grinned at me. He didn't understand a word that I have spoken. He told me. "It does the same things." I left the store with nothing.
 
I sat with my Apache Friend and his family outside the gate of Fort Hood, Texas. I sat and listened to him.  His skin hardened by the Texas sun. I came and sat with him every Saturday for many months.

He had a story for every item he sold. I brought him food and water.  His stories were passed on to him by family and elders.
 
He gave me a Medicine Wheel. He rose up and made a circle with his hands. He told me.  "All people are part of the circle of life.  We all have a purpose, he had sadness in his voice. We Apache and Native Americans were responsible to protect Nature. We did a poor job."
 
"The white people were responsible for the fire. They shared their gift and now fire is held in every corner of the planet. His eyes looked at the ground, then he raised his eyes and looked to the sky. The fire was taught Atomic and nuclear power too well."
 
"The black people held the strength, wisdom and honour. The wisdom of the black people lost direction. We need their strength before we kill off all that is good."
 
"The yellow people have courage, leadership and clarity. The gentle and calm souls will be necessary for this world to seek peace."
 
"The medicine wheel is a compass to all life. We must know all four directions."
 
At a Pow Wow in Texas a few Native Americans danced and invited all of us to join the dance of friendship. A old Apache man moved around the circle. Burned sage and blessed everyone who came.
 
He welcomed us. He began to speak.

"We were the last Americans allowed to dance our Native dances.
We were the last allowed to speak our language in public.
We have not forgotten. 
We go on and hope for better days."
 
He blessed all of us and his kind eyes show respect for all.
He raise his hands and spoke to the sky.
"Teach us the four winds. 
Give us wisdom. 
Teach us humility. 
Show us clarity. 
Allow us to trust our brothers."
 
I'm proud of my Ojibwa heritage.  I'm proud of my Mexican/white heritage. The Medicine wheel showed us we are one. We need to work together. Red, black, white and yellow were given gifts.
 
Old Apache raised his hands to the sky. Then created a full circle. He moved slowly around  the inner circle and looked in all our eyes.
 
 
"We are one.
Let's pray for peace."
 
East wind - Yellow people - Path of light - Spiritual - courage.
West wind - Red people - Path of vision - physical -prayer
North wind - White people - Path of quiet - Mental - wisdom
South wind - Black people - Path of peace - natural - trust

 
This is a view of many years of learning. Every teacher tells the story differently. I believe we are one people. Peace will come when we learn to work together.

Black, White, Red and Yellow are the four corners of the Medicine Wheel. All with important gifts to bring to achieve peace with each other and the planet.


                                     Coyote

 
 

Author's Note

If mistakes. Please tell me. Never too old to learn.

Reviews

[Neville]

What a truly inspirational and important poem we have here. Until now, I did not appreciate the true significance of the 'Medicine Wheel'
I have learn't many things this evening and am subsequently both humbled and very grateful to you my dear friend Coyote.................All Good Things, Neville

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Neville. The Medicine. A symbol of peace. One people and one earth.

[Neville]

Amen to that..........

[Daisie Vergara (Dhaye)]

Nice story, Coyote. I learned something again about Native Americans.
BTW, I have beautiful dream catcher at home. I love dreaming. They are like beautiful movies I recall when I wake up.
Thank you for sharing this to us. Well-written. Keep it up!

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you my friend for reading and the comment. I do appreciate.

[Jaime S]

This was very well written!!!! great Job!! You have a great writers' voice and continue to develop it because I believe you could go along way!

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Jaime for reading and the comment.I appreciate the kind words.

[DIVYA]

A very inspiring work with a powerful message on the beauty of different colors and co-existence. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and experiences.

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you DIVYA for reading and the comment. I do appreciate them.

[DIVYA]

You are welcome. It was my pleasure to read.

[Ellen Kolman]

Inspirational, thank you for sharing Coyote...excellent write...keep learning and sharing with us

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome and thank you for the positive comment.

[Carolynn]

Absolutely amazing message Coyote - we could all benefit from learning this wisdom and what a treat to have you share it with us! Thank you so much - I hope it reaches many, many eyes and hearts :)

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Carolynn. I hope we learn ASAP. We must get along.

[Pursue Peace Blog]

I was pleasantly surprised to see this was an essay and not a poem. Poetry is not my thing. I noticed quite a few grammatical errors; however, I was wondering if perhaps they were done on purpose since you were speaking in a vernacular similar to what I hear from Native Americans. One thing to pay attention to is your verb tense. If you are writing in present, stay in the present and visa versa. I love the theme of this peace. Something we all need to hear more of when the media tries so hard to push us toward racial hatred. I learned a lot as well. Not knowing much about the Native American culture, I was interested to hear about a medicine wheel and what it actually means. New to Writer's Cafe, this is the only piece of yours I have read, but I encourage you to write more about Native American culture if you have not already. Good work.

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you for reading. I will edit one day. Was a combination of many places and thoughts into one poem.

[B J Hughes]

An amazing pen! Altho a bit too lengthy for my cuppa, this held my interest firm from start to finish. An absorbing read indeed, well done!! An essential pen to perpetuate the true spirit of this land and it's indigenous peoples. Bravo!

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you for reading. A lot had to be said. In the end. Just hope we can find the way to get along.

[MySecretMuse]

I thought that this was an amazing read. I like that this poem was freeverse, too, because I feel that it let you tell the story how you wanted without the stress on the poem of trying to rhyme. This told a powerful message of unity. Thank you.

[Coyote Poetry]

I hope we learn soon. Every life had value. Thank you for reading and the comment.

[mou]

very nice.every word is constructive and full of spirit.waiting for your next one..

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you mou. I appreciate the comment.

[katja]

there's a very raw [mayhap unrefined] delivery; whether intentional or not, it adds greatly to the mood of your prose, a rugged backdrop to a very esoteric train of thought...
... your words are steeped in profundity.
it's quite amazing what we see when we perceive with more than our eyes. thought provoking writing, a pleasure to read.
~ katja

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Katja for reading and the comment. I hope we learn ASAP. We must get along for the sake of the children and the planet.