Creation. While this year’s Earth Week is almost over, my prayers are that this enthusiasm endures. I was also reminded of a reflection that Richard Rohr shared a couple of years ago about the interconnectedness of indigenous traditions and caring for Creation:
“By realizing the connectedness of humankind to all animal and plant life, the Lakota believe that we become aware of new possibilities for preserving all living things. In humanity’s dependence on the Earth, the Lakota and others believe we can learn to sustain our planet and can find fresh prospects for nurturing food, conserving water, and developing renewable energy. All this and more is contained in their two simple prayer words: mitakuye oyasin, “All my relations.”
“Like the Lakota concept of mitakuye oyasin, the Iroquois philosophy seeks to bring all people together in one accord by recognizing that all people and creation are inter-connected…. This way of living is substantiated among various Native peoples, so many of whom have a common value of harmony. Ojibway elder Eddie Benton Banai writes, ‘Today, we should use these ancient teachings to live our lives in harmony with the plan that the Creator gave us. We are to do these things if we are to be the natural people of the Universe.’”
Rev. Paul Whynacht
