Our life comes from our parents.

Life itself comes from Mother Earth and Father Sky, whom are the embodiments of Space and Time. Mother Earth is the space in which we live and Father Sky is the time in which we live. Space and Time are the creators of Here and Now.

Spirit is the gift of Here and Now. On the Medicine Wheel, Spirit can be seen as the open circle in the middle. It is empty because it is ours to fill. All our relations are all around us on the wheel. How we turn our wheel affects everything. What will we do with this greatest of gifts?

What turns a wheel?  If you roll a wheel down a hill it may stay rolling for a while, but eventually will run amok and fall over. If you toss a wheel into the air, it may spin free for a while, but then will crash. We cannot keep our wheel in balance when we slack off and let outside forces do the work. It may seem like the easier way, but living out of control always ends in ruin.

We need to take responsibility for our wheel in order to keep it turning for a long time.  If we turn our wheel from the center, we will have a better handle on keeping it in balance. When we are centered with the axle we can detect where it wobbles and correct the sway so it remains moving.  We must hold it firmly, but also take care to allow some play so that we can withstand the bumps in the road. We must be aware of what’s around us, what begins, what continues, what needs care, and what needs to be recycled.

The Great Spirit is the axle of our lives. When we connect with it we can help maintain balance in our lives, and with the rest of the world.

The Bible says to honor thy father and thy mother. This means not only to be polite to them, but to bring honor to our family by being a good person.

We can honor not only our human mother and father, but also our Mother Earth and Father Sky- who art (literally) Heaven!  Honor them with appreciation and protection from careless use. Father Sky is the air in our lungs, he’s with us all our lives- we can honor him by using our voices to say good things, and by being part of the solution to pollution. Mother Earth holds us, feeds us and shows us beauty. Honor her by behaving in a decent way and walking gently upon her. Cleaning up our trash is like brushing our mother’s hair. Mother Earth and Father Sky, like good parents, are here for us all our lives. Let’s love them and respect them.

A Medicine person not only honors the spiritual parents by being kind to them, but also by staying in contact with them. A good family should be on speaking terms. When we regularly acknowledge our parents we show them that they are appreciated. When we take the time to appreciate Here and Now, we are appreciating life. When we appreciate life we behave honorably and are turning our wheel in a balanced way.

Spend time in the Here and Now whenever possible, and use this gift wisely. Thank you, All My relations, for helping to turn the wheel.