Power of words…words to live by

Many times I get asked, “Lisa, what inspires you?”. There are so many things that are inspirational to me, it actually is quite astounding and brings me happiness when I reflect on how much goodness exists in the universe. Even when we live in times that challenge our belief system and hopefulness, I am grateful for the wisdom that has been put forth by others. It reminds me of Native Americans; their respect for the earth, gratitude to "Great Mystery", and care for their people. Native Americans inspire me with their beliefs, their wisdom, and their words. There are countless books to draw from, here are two I’ve enjoyed, The Wisdom of the Native Americans and The Sacred Tree. Sometimes their words have been used in speeches and films. Here is a poem written by Chief Tecumseh’s read at the end of the film, Act of Valor.

“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.

Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.” …how’s that for inspirational...? Interestingly, A.J. Hawk, a football player in the NFL, began reading this poem to his daughter at bedtime when she was three years old. Imagine hearing those words spoken to you each and every night during your childhood. Do you think you would have developed a connection to those words? Give you perspective? Grace? Humility? Gratitude? Honor…? What if you read Tecumseh’s poem to your children at night or an equally powerful poem? What if we read it to ourselves? What if we wrote our own? There is power in words…they can provide a framework to live by... To your journey, Lisa Schaffer GreenNote Fitness P.S. Checkout my Facebook page for inspiration. **Do you have a friend that would benefit from this information? Please forward it to them!**