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..........

[bigfootprint]

Very touching insights into the Native American ways. Their traditions and lore carried them through the centuries. They proved their superior character and love of nature. The whites fled to America from destitution and suffering in their homelands. They cared more about grabbing land and gold than about uniting with tribal people and ways dedicated to shepherding the prairie. Fear and suspicion from both sides made a melding of the races impossible. When great change comes, so many people must suffer for the greed and contempt of the few. So much history and knowledge has been lost to future generations. If teaching us where we all made mistakes is your calling, you have made a heroic start with this treatise. Thank you for sharing.-- Doug

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Doug for reading and the comment. I pray we learn, one people, one earth. For the sake of all children.

[bigfootprint]

We must learn to love, but God Almighty has got that covered. Mortals cannot be "one people, one earth." That idea got lost in leftist semantics aimed at creating a world dictatorship.

[adichie]

I have the good fortune to be pleasantly surrounded by medicine wheels. Your lessons are a joy and a privilege to read, Coyote.:):)

Adix

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Adix for reading and the comment. I do appreciate. Would be nice if we learn to live as one.

[Diana]

"The medicine wheel is a compass to all life. We must know all four directions."- This is where I really saw your poem starting to come full-circle. Oh, and Amen to your last line:
"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."- God-willing...

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Diane. I pray everyday we learn to get along. For the sake of the children.

[danielle.]

What a beautiful story. There are a few mistakes but it doesn’t matter, the message is clear. The thing is, the wise people in each of the four corners know this very same truth. Where did we go wrong? Now that is a can of worms to open!

[Coyote Poetry]

I wish I knew why man must fight. Wealth, money and land. Greed will kill the goodness of our world. Thank you dear friend for reading and the comment.

[Diabolicalbeard]

Very interesting poem i am drawn within it

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you for reading. Old view of the world. I hope we learn. One earth and one people. We must get along.

[Diabolicalbeard]

Very true my friend

[Vatsal Rohilla]

The message is clear and simple...and one which we need to adopt as soon as possible.
The fundamental principles of unity, equality, hard work, honesty, peace and love are all what the world needs.
Yes, we are a long way from having such a world. But why give up hope?
While one must acknowledge the dire state the world is in, but at the same time one must be optimistic and do his or her bit towards making the globe a happy place to live in.

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Vatsal for reading and the comment. I pray we learn. War must end, healing must begin.

[Alexandra G.]

This is very inspirational, remarkable and a truly piece of wonder. Thank you for this! Amazing work once again...

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Alexandra. One earth and one people. We must get along. I pray we can one day.

[Sir Aphid]

What do you mean by white, yellow, black, and red people? Are these meant to be races? What about arabs, finns, jews etc.?

I agree peace must be made among all peoples. How do we live in harmony without giving up what makes us special and unique? Humans may create war but nature will inevitably make peace; with or without human beings.

I think all people of all races had a responsibility to protect nature, but we all failed, however nature does not need us to protect it. We need nature to protect us.

[Coyote Poetry]

I agree. This is a Native American prayer. Looking at life, not religion. Nature don't need us. She will outlast man and his greed. I appreciate the comment.

[BorealPoet]

Back on writerscafe for the first time and two years and this is the first page I visited. Every time I look at some of your writing I find something truly unique. It's always a treat. This was a great way to get back into the swing of things. Thanks for sharing Coyote!

[Coyote Poetry]

Glad to have you back and thank you for reading and the comment.

[CMC]

Beautiful. The world can always be a better place with more love and understanding. We do need to think of ourselves as one people. We're all human.

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Chris for reading and the comment. One earth and one people.

[CMC]

Goodness. I didn't know how badly I needed to reread this. This is especially pertinent to the world-scape (if that's even a word) right now. Again, I want to thank you for sharing your writing.