From the Helm: Spirit of the River |
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"The springs and rivers, to bathe in them gives new life, to drink from
them cures every bodily ill." - Cherokee Wisdom
The rivers have more meaning to me, being of Native American Blood- Cherokee Indian. The river, or Long Man (pronounced ga nv hi dv as ga ya in Cherokee) as we call it, gives us a way of travel, replenishes our physical bodies, and purifies our spirit with the sounds of the rapids and falls. The wildlife that lives inside and along the riverbanks nourishes our bodies as we travel its moving waters. The cool waters as we drink and bathe in its streams takes care of our bodies during the hot summer months. The sound of the musical rapids keeps our attitude on a level note, yet it keeps flowing, like the blood that pumps through our veins and gives life!
"I know every river, stream and woods.... I have hunted and lived like my
fathers before me and like them, I live happily!" -Ten Bears: Sioux
It saddens my heart when I see how we treat the waters that Mother Earth has given us. They were made pure and clean, and we, the caretakers, are now destroying their existence. What do we leave to our future grandchildren? How do we explain to them how once the rivers we paddled ran pure with lots of life and we neglected to take care of it for them? Yet, is it too late to try and help save our waterways? It takes all of us, including the government and local people, to set forth now on a voyage down the streams and rivers, to keep them moving and pure for our future generations, while on Mother Earth.
"We sang songs that carried in them melodies of all the sounds of nature,
the running of waters, the sighing of winds and the calls of the animals. Teach your children." -Crow Feather - Teton Sioux
Oh, hear the river sing through its chorus of multiple rapids. Feel its pure coolness rush over our skin. Taste the life it gives our bodies. See the beauty of blue waters with an abundance of colored fish. Smell the freshness that the running water gives back to the air we breathe. Last, the Spirit of the River that restores the positive attitude to our living souls. Oh brother and sister hear me, through I'm just a lowly poor Indian, who hears the Great Spirit in the Winds, see him in the clouds, yet, feels the peace he gives in the moving pure waters of the rivers.
"The Great Spirit made these mountains and rivers for us, and all
this land." -Blackfoot-Crow, 1850 Sincerely yours on the Rivers,
Me li ( Mary)
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