Prayer to the Great Spirit

"Oh Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me!"
Yes, let me hear and experience this God whose voice can be heard, whose breath gives life, hear me God! 

"I am small and weak" -
My smallness is exposed by the unmanageability of my self-centeredness: my worries, needs, resentments, pettiness, fears, loneliness, self-talking mind...
My weakness is disclosed by my powerlessness over my thinking, over injustice, cruelty, impending tyranny, others' choices, the pace of the river...

"Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand the things
you have taught my people
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock."

Let me walk in the Great Reality, the Realm beyond unkindness, self-centeredness, shame, judgement,  mental torture. I can walk in the beauty of knowing there is a room prepared for me, both an inner room and a room beyond the veil. There, I am able to respect, to hear, to understand, to be teachable, to let go, to decide. 

"I seek strength not to be greater than my brother but to fight my greatest enemy, myself."
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That's a new dimension - that the battle is within myself, my beliefs and blind spots.
I lack humility.
My Creator gives me Power to take responsibility for my own self... Who am I to harshly blame or judge anyone? I'm not a victim... Give me the power of discernment to avoid being a victim of someone else's separation from you just because I want something from that person more than I want a relationship with Spirit and Truth.  Besides, I can pray and call the police, pray and tell the truth, pray and seek justice. 

"Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes
So when life fades, as the fading sunset,
My spirit may come to you without shame."

So much hope and simplicity. My life might end today or at the start of a protracted slide. Let me come to you, my Creator, without shame, without fear. How is that even possible when I am so flawed? 

You know me and see behind my mask and love me fully as I am, struggling today with a needy neighbor. He revolts me because he looks to me as a savior - "You can save me!"  

I condemn myself for rejecting his request for a ride to "his church" and for us to pray together; as yet I have no choice but to surrender to my wariness and say, "no," trusting that must be the right thing to do.  Please guide him to an experience of your infinite LOVE.

My Creator, I pray not to withhold your love from any of your children. Is it possible your love is expressing itself today as my unwillingness to be pulled into his delusion? I pray to hear your voice in the winds, to be grateful for your breath, to fight my greatest enemy, myself. 

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