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SIMPLE WORDS OF SIMPLE WISDOM
~ Anthony Sullivan
Sometimes in this life, especially in this day and age of celebrity over talent, of style over substance, and of wealth and worth being measured only by a person's bank balance, any realization of what this life is truly about can be so easily lost in the dazzle and haze of what it should never be about. One is reminded of the wise old saying that goes, ‘what matters most must never be at the mercy of what matters least.’ But when the difference between the two has become so blurred, the choice between what really matters and what doesn't is often a jungle of conflicting emotions for many people.
That which is portrayed by some sections of society as the be-all-and-end-all of success and achievement can do little, if anything, to stir the souls of other sections. In short, it could perhaps be said that some people see just the world before their eyes, while others see, and indeed seek, only the world BEYOND their eyes. I'd like to think that I myself fall into this second category and because I do is just one reason why I also think I've always been drawn to the wonderfully simple, eternal and life-affirming and embracing philosophy of Native Americans. So then, my answer to the question of 'what is life?' Well, no answer, to my mind at least, describes what life is more perfectly than the words of the Blackfoot warrior, Crowfoot...
‘What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.’
 In Ireland at the moment, my country, we are suffering and preparing to suffer even more in the years to come, for over a decade of disastrous leadership in government. The damage caused by this political vacuum has been compounded by a similar lack of responsibility and neglect of duty in our financial sector. The result? Well, from a position 4 or 5 years ago where each year's budget was showing a healthy surplus, this year Ireland has been forced to go cap-in-hand for combined loans from various sources amounting to around 85 BILLION euro, just to keep the country functioning over the next 4 years.
But how could this happen? To a country perceived around the world as being so young, and vibrant, and smart? ‘Tis with regret I concede that the answer is as easy to pinpoint as it is shameful to confront; the answer is greed. But I must also point out however, that any sense of shame exists only in the shape of our, as a people, having to acknowledge that we were taken-in and deceived for so, so long a time by the empty words and self-serving deeds of our political class.
What we needed, what we need now more than ever, is a kind of leadership that will serve our people, and in the true spirit of what that means, not simply using those words as a mask to hide behind. We need a leadership that will make us proud to be who we are. What we need is a kind of leadership as described by Chief Maquinna of the Nootka....
‘Once I was in Victoria, and I saw a very large house. They told me it was a bank and that the white men place their money there to be taken care of, and that by and by they got it back with interest. We are Indians and we have no such bank, but when we have plenty of money or blankets, we give them away to other Chiefs and people, and by and by they return them with interest, and our hearts feel good. Our way of giving is our bank.’
The focus of true leadership, I believe, is always the greater good of all those involved. In times where sacrifices are called for, they must be made by those in command first, and be seen to be made, and perhaps be endured to a greater extent than elsewhere. Where discipline is required, then the same standards apply. As they will and must in most situations. Where the truest test of leadership comes to the fore however, is when it demonstrates the vision to look towards far-off horizons and concentrate not just on today and those affected by the events of the here-and-now.
True leadership displays the humility of knowing it plays but a small part in a much greater and wide-reaching scheme of things, but is also fully aware that despite its part being small, the potential consequences of decisions made and actions taken, carry with them a sacred trust that extends well beyond the scope of a single lifetime, even of humankind. Or, as so poetically stated by Chief Seattle....
‘Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.’
This same innate wisdom and knowledge, so often and without a second-thought in this high-speed world of instant satisfaction, where the present moment, while crowned King by so many, in turn becomes dictatorial in essence, is delivered in the words of Hereditary Chief Qwatsinas...
‘We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can't speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees.’
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not stuck in a time-warp yearning for those long-gone and never to be seen again innocent days of yore, far from it. More often than not, the 'good old days' are only such in hindsight, bearing within them at the time their own share of trouble and torment. But progress that leaves behind all semblance of sense and reason is not progress, to a better world or for the betterment of the world. It's all too easy to slip into sliding in the wrong direction. After all, is not motion progress of a kind? Indeed it is, but it serves to prove the point that progress, if not well-marshaled, can move in either of two directions.
And this is where I fear so many people have lost sight of so important a fact; that we must realize the true value of what we have in this world, and literally, the value in having this world at all, before such an awakening visits too late to save us and our beautiful planet. As the old Cree prophecy warns....
‘Only after the last tree has been cut down, only after the last river has been poisoned, only after the last fish has been caught, only then will you find money cannot be eaten.’
It has been my great pleasure to have been involved in 'Whisper n' Thunder' since it first came into being about a year ago. As an Irishman who knows Native  American culture, tradition and history only from what my heart feels and my mind contemplates, I am hugely honored to have had so much of my work featured here, and hugely humbled to have it considered worthy of a place among so many other inspirational and educational pieces of writing. For that opportunity I am grateful.
I will leave you now with a Cherokee prayer, one I wish true for all of you in 2011...
'May the warm winds of heaven blow softly upon your house. May the great Spirit bless all who enter there. May your moccasins make happy tracks in many snows and may the rainbow always touch your shoulder. '
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Photos of Ireland: WebSite Tonight Image Library
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