Tuesday, September 27, 2011

BOOK COVERS TELL NO STORY ~~ NATIVE AMERICAN

How often do we assess people by appearance? Among other things we do pay particular attention to one's clothing. Most, if not all of us put on our best clothing for a job interview or meeting the parents or going out on a date. I believe this is a product of our society rather than a choice we make. Over the years we have migrated to materialism and being feed the idea that the more money you make, the more worthy you are as a person. What a sad statement this is for humanity. To look at a man wearing an Armani suit and believe that he may be better or happier than you.

If you want to drown in a sea of plastic happiness, take a walk down the strip in Las Vegas. Plastic everywhere! If anyone walked close enough to a fire place, he might melt as well as all the plastic surgery we see unhappy people result to, failing to recognize one's true value in life.

Allow me to tell you a story: Many of you know I am a soccer coach of a boys under 19 division. This is very serious soccer. Last year, for my assistant coach I bought a polo coaches' shirt that said "Assistant Coach" on it. Mine said "Coach". We went through a complete season with no complaints or concerns expressed and than my assistant accused me of being degrading and offensive that my shirt said "Coach" and his said "Assistant coach" like I wanted to make a point I was more important than him or something to that affect. I gladly worn a shirt that said assistant coach when I was an assistant. After all, I got a free polo shirt.

Please dear fellow humans, do not ever believe that the clothes you wear make the person you are. If you  wore a superman suit, does that make you Superman? The clothes one wears do not make the person. Also, you do not have to advertize who you are by wearing,  for instance, a Bavarian Lederhosen  to show you are German or a Sari dress to show you are Eastern Indian. I have said this before, you are what you think and feel inside.

Also, it is a shame, we sometimes compromise who we are to get what we want. I know it is hard sometimes to be true to yourself and others, but I assure you, you will feel so much better achieving life with who you are inside, not who you are outside. Remember, the real you is in the chapters of a book, not a title or a picture on a cover.

The following "Elder's meditation" comes from my dear Native American friend, Tall deer,  who is the owner of a group called "Cherokee Place of Peace" on care2.com.

"To me, if you're Indian, you're Indian. You don't have to put on your buckskin, beads, and feathers, and stuff like that."

--Cecilia Mitchell, MOHAWK
The most important thing that determines who we are is on our insides, not our outsides. If we are Indian inside, that's all that matters. Being Indian means to think right, to be spiritual, and to pray. Feathers and beads don't make us Indian. Being Indian means to have a good heart and a good mind.



 

Great Spirit, today, let me think Indian.

Be the person you want to be, good from the inside, not the outside. Do not compromise who you are and respect yourself. 


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