Idle No More : Its Strength

For those who think about how to draw strength to continue in the Idle No More movement, how to understand its strength, I offer the following reflection: 

 

     Key to any social movement is its sustainability, its capacity to maintain strength throughout the struggle to attain its goals. If we rely simply on our own personal reserves, it is likely we will quickly abandon or burn out. If we rely exclusively on the collective force of the groups we work with, it is more than likely also that we will, at some point, hit a wall we cannot breach. It is important, to my mind, that we recognize a force that moves us forward that works in us and in our groups, but that is also larger than just us.

    We mobilize to defend Mother Earth from the devastation that we two-legged creatures are inflictin on her. This incentive to come to the defense of Mother Earth comes from within, but it is ultimately Mother Earth herself who inspires it. Mother Earth and the Spirit that guides Mother Earth, the Great Spirit herself, provides us with the strength to engage the struggle. It is crucial that we be very clear on this point. The source of our strength lies deep within that Spirit, within Mother Earth herself and is given to us. How to we maintain contact with that force?  By paying very close attention to what Mother Earth is saying to us. And how to we listen?  Mother Earth speaks through her creatures, all of them who come to us. They speak and we need to be attentive, to know how to hear and to interpret. These creatures include the air, the water, the earth, the plants, birds, trees, the water creatures and even the two-legged ones -- at times. They all have a word to say, if we know how to interpret their language.  Especially if we are new to these languages, we may need help to know what is being said. It is a collective effort.

     And how to we engage the conversation with Mother Earth’s creatures?  Through the heart first of all. We need to open our hearts to gratitude. It is the spirit of gratitude that opens the doors so that the creatures can speak and be heard. Gratitude to them and to their gifts is key. The key. We need to turn to them constantly, every day, several times a day, in gratitude. This is ancient wisdom.