The Old People Came Literally To Love The Soil

There is a road in the hearts of all of us, hidden and seldom traveled,

which leads to an unknown secret place.

The old people came literally to love the soil,

and they sat on or reclined on the ground with a feeling of

being close to a mothering power.

Their teepees were built on the earth,

and their alters were made of earth.

Their soul was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing.

That is why the old Indian still sits upon the earth instead of

proping himself up and away from it's life giving forces.

For him to sit, or to lie on the ground is to be able to think more deeply,

and to feel more keenly. He can see more clearly into the mysteries of

life, and come closer in kinship to other lives about him.

Chief Luther Standing Bear

You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of your grandfathers.

So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin.

Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother.

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth.

If men spit upon the ground, theys spit upon themselves.

Unknown

The earth is our mother, we must take care of her!

Humankind has not woven the web of life.

We are but one thread within it.

Whatever we do to the web we do to ourselves.

All things are bound together.

All things connect.

Chief Seattle, 1854