Respect for all living things.

I know many things about myself, and one of the many things that I know is that I have a great love and respect for all living things.  We have several pets at home:  a dog, six cats, a fish, and a guinea pig.  All of our pets have been rescued by us, from the street or the local animal shelter.  All were abandoned in one form or another.  All were meant to come to us.

We both, actually, to be accurate, all three of us humans in this family, have connections to Native American roots.  My partner, our daughter’s other mom, has Micmac Indian in her family history; I have Poarch Band Creek Indian on my mother’s side of my heritage, and since I was a teenager, I have felt a great affinity toward that in my soul.  It is part of who I am.  As part of that heritage, I feel compelled to care for the living creatures around me.  We all do, the humans in our house.  We have had neighbors call us to take baby animals that have been abandoned on our street; we have taken in kittens who were left behind when their owners moved in the middle of the night; we have adopted young animals that were left at the Humane Society.  And now, they are part of our family and connected to us.  I spent part of my evening taking our beloved guinea pig to the vet, because he had stopped eating, and we were sure that he was dying; as it ended up, his teeth had grown too long, which is common with guinea pigs, so he was slowly starving because he was unable to eat.  He is better now, so he will be with us for a while yet, I believe.

We cry for the young fawn that was romping in our yard with its sibling only days ago, and got hit and killed by a car on our main street.  We worry for the mighty buck who wanders through our neighborhood, when hunting season comes along.  We hope and pray that the bears that call the woods by our house their home, find refuge as the community encroaches upon their land to build new roads, new homes, new industry. 

We plant new trees in our yard, to give the environment a chance; we try to embrace the gifts that nature gives us in our own backyard, whether it is blueberries, apples, or grapes.  We started a vegetable garden and marvel every day at the emergence of dozens of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and today, green beans.

We live a simple life.  We love being together.  We love taking in the beauty of our surroundings, and naming the deer that visit every night and morning.  It all goes back to our roots, our Indian roots, the roots that we have the utmost respect for, because they speak to our hearts, our souls.  I want to end with a prayer, that I just came across, that I wrote several years ago, to the Great Spirit, which guides our way in life,  we are all convinced of that…..

O, great Spirit, please help me to hold onto my faith in you, in Mother Earth, and in those things that are meant to be.  Deep in my heart, I know that all of what is happening in my life right now is for a reason.  I sometimes lose sight of that in the face of uncertainty and adversity.  Please lead me back to the light in those times of stress, so that I can be hopeful and realize how good this will be.  I know that you are leading me to lessons to be learned, tears to be cried, and songs to be sung.  Please know that I am open to your ways, and please continue to teach me of your wise knowings.  My heart is open and I am ready.  Please also know the deep respect and reverence I have for all things of you, living and nonliving, two-leggeds and others, and take them all on as my brothers and sisters.

To living a simpler, more meaningful life……..