Trail of Hope

 When you no longer go forward, … which path in life do you take ?

                                -         The one to the left, where nothing is right , or ….

                                -         The one to the right, where nothing is left ?

For nearly 70 years as a performer, Pete Seeger has embodied the ideals of folk music – communication, entertainment, social comment, historical continuity, inclusiveness.

 The songs he has written, and those he has discovered and shared, have helped preserve our cultural heritage, imprinting adults and children with the sounds, traditions and values of our global past and present.

 A fearless warrior for social justice and the environment, Pete’s political activism – from the Civil Rights movement and anti-McCarthyism to resistance to fascism and the wars in Vietnam and the Middle East – has become the template for subsequent generations of musicians and ordinary citizens with something to say about the world.

…. and “Turn, Turn, Turn!”, which have been recorded by many artists both in and outside the folk revival movement and are still sung throughout the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhPS_MBAIcw

Spirit

                     And while I stood there
        I saw more than I can tell,
        and I understood more than I saw;
        for I was seeing in a sacred manner
        the shapes of things in the spirit,
        and the shape of all shapes as they must
        live together like one being.
                                                              -  Black Elk,

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​FEAR is the kryptonite of the human spirit. It is always destructive while love is always creative. Love creates the courage to change the things we can. Fear cripples our soul and builds walls of limitation, preventing us from changing anything at all.

​Most people either try to deny their fear, or they wallow in it. You do not want to surrender to fear. By surrendering, you find that you actually amplify the power of fear.  At the same time, you do not want to pretend that fear does not exist. The only way to conquer fear is to acknowledge it and defeat it.

​Fear of failure is the main culprit that stops us from having an adventurous life. Rejection, failure, and defeat are all weapons fighting against our free spirit. We were all born for adventure, to make the most out of life and explore our hearts deepest desires. It is our destiny to embrace a world of human spirits. Yet failure flirts with our integrity, causing us to succumb to dreams without actions.
​Prevailing over our fears will not happen overnight. It could turn out to be a long and epic battle. We must make strides each and every day to literally defeat our fear. If we try hard enough, we can become fearless. It is important to remember that fearlessness is not the same as recklessness. Recklessness is a complete disregard for caution.  While fear is considered to always be destructive, it is a survival mechanism derived from a perceived threat.  Fear it innate and experienced by every human person.

​Being fearless means not just watching or imagining adventure. It means actually doing it with an air of caution. You are taking steps and moving forward instead of thinking about doing so. You take these steps now, not tomorrow, for there are only so many tomorrows.

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            Native American Prayer

Oh, Great Spirit
Whose voice I hear in the winds,
And whose breath gives life to all the world,
hear me, I am small and weak,
I need your strength and wisdom.
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.
I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy – myself.
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.   

(translated by Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark in 1887)

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