What can be more sacred than life itself?

Bird Droppings Augustg 31, 2026

What can be more sacred than life itself?

Perhaps being born on All Saints’ Day in St. Joseph’s Hospital gives me better insight into the sacred than most normal folk. Of course, I have to consider that soon after I was born, the Church dropped All Saints’ Day, which I hope had nothing to do with me. I could have been born on Halloween. As I sit here at my computer, getting ready to write this morning, my thoughts turn spiritual. It has been some time since I walked along a dirt road amid hundreds of acres
of pasture, listening to buffalo and cattle snorting and waking in the early morning, when I came to find this outlook on life.

“When we acknowledge that all of life is sacred and that each act is an act of choice and therefore sacred, then life is a sacred dance lived each moment consciously. When we live at this level, we participate in the creation of a better world.” Dr. Scout Cloud Lee

Dr. Lee is a motivational speaker, author of twelve books, singer and songwriter, university professor, and, along the way, a cast member of The Survivor series on CBS. She was voted Outstanding Teacher of the Year at Oklahoma State University in 1980, and Oklahoma’s Outstanding Young Woman in America in 1980. In 2002, Lee was honored to carry the Olympic torch, exemplifying the theme of “Light the Fire Within.” Perhaps this is a good place to stop. As a Today Show guest, she stated, “You have to decide,” and Dr. Lee adds, “We participate in
the creation of a new world.” I end up with a line from an Aerosmith song, as it always seems to fit in.

“Life is about the journey, not the destination.” Steven Tyler, Aerosmith.

I used Dr. Lee’s quote and the preceding paragraph on September 7, 2009, in my daily wanderings. An email earlier this week reminded me of this quote and some thoughts along the way, along with several books I picked up over the past few weeks at Barnes and Noble; I should get a commission for mentioning bookstores and Quick Trip. I state on my Facebook page that my religious belief is that all is sacred. That, in and of itself, is a powerful statement and one
I adhere to, or at least attempt, each day I live. Many can argue from their own religious perspective and/or theological viewpoint about what is sacred or not. On a recent journey to Macon, I went by the Ocmulgee Indian Mounds National Park. I speak of the place reverently, as for thousands of years many people have held it as a sacred spot. When I climb to the top of the Great Temple Mound and look to the four directions, I imagine what it was like before
the Macon skyline was visible to the north or the visitor center to the east.

Sitting on the table as I write is a Bushmen water container. It is simply an ostrich egg, emptied with a hole in the top, with carvings of animals and designs etched into the shell, then filled with ash to leave a black line. This egg is over fifty years old; my father brought it back from South Africa many years ago and gave it to me. In the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, the people known as the San, as they wish to be called, are sometimes referred to as Bushmen; this is a sacred vessel. It is one of many that would be stashed, plugged with grass, and placed at a specific spot identified by markings belonging to a particular hunting group; it would be filled with water andstored for the next trip through that spot.

Over the past few years, I have read many books on spirituality, Native American thought, Curriculum, Education, Teaching methods, Religion, Counseling, Psychology, Herbs, Medicinal plants, Reptiles and Amphibians, and even a few fiction books, mainly Harry Potter. One author who has always kept my attention, and whom I still periodically check up on for his essays, is
William Edelen. Edelen is a Presbyterian pastor, former fighter pilot, former agriculture teacher, author, speaker, and free thinker extraordinaire. While his essay collections are not bestsellers, a few years back one title, In Search of the Great Mystery, was the United Methodist Women’s book of the year. Edelen incorporates many ideas from Native American thought into his writing,
along with Thomas Jefferson and Thoreau.

“The question I so often ask is this: Why are the vast majority of people so willing to turn over their life, values, priorities, and decisions to such authoritarian institutions? Are they insecure, that fearful, that blind, that they cannot assume personal responsibility for their own spiritual growth?  ‘Your own reason is the only oracle given to you by God,’ wrote Thomas Jefferson. William Edelen, Spirit Dance

“People often ask me, “What are you …… what do you believe…. Are you a Christian…. Taoist … Buddhist …. what? In a joking mood, I may tell them I am a Taoist, Druid, Agnostic shaman. But when I answer the question seriously, I tell cosmology, or philosophy of life, is the same whether one lives in a
Taoist society, Buddhist, Christian, or secular.” William Edelen, Spirit Dance

Needless to say, William Edelen is a character; he still has many listeners
and readers, and even in his nineties he still speaks in Palm Springs each
week, delivering a new essay. There is a website where these are posted. But
there are many views of life, spirit, and the sacred that compromise these.
Continuing on today, another writer who has drawn me to them is Thomas Merton—a
Trappist monk; he is considered to be one of the foremost spiritual thinkers of
the twentieth century. Merton died in a hotel room in Southeast Asia in 1968,
protesting the war in Viet Nam.

“To unify your life, unify your desires. To spiritualize your life,
spiritualize your desires. To spiritualize your desires, desire to be without
desires.” Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude

“Everyone has an instinctive desire to do good things and avoid evil. But
the desire is sterile as long as we have no experience of what it means to be
good.” Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude

Almost John Dewey’s words in needing to experience good to desire to do
good. Both Thomas Merton and William Edelen use the concept of opposites
prevalent in Eastern philosophy as well as in Native American thought. Merton
and Edelen often quote the Dalai Lama in their writings, and because he is the
spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, he is respected worldwide.

Over the years I have been a fan of the writings of the Dalai Lama myself,
at age six or so he was chosen to be the successor to the thirteenth Dalai Lama
and left his parent’s small farm to go to the capital of Tibet in Lhasa and
here was tutored in Buddhist traditions and writings. During his youth, he also
had tutors from England who taught other subjects and gave this humble boy from
a small farm in Tibet a broader worldview. Today, he is considered one of the
great thinkers of our time and has received the Nobel Peace Prize, among
numerous other awards. His many books help bridge divides and provide insight
into Buddhist philosophy and our understanding of the world. One of these
thoughts within Buddhism is the theory of emptiness.

“According to the theory of emptiness, any belief in an objective reality
grounded on the assumption of intrinsic, independent existence is untenable.
All things and events, whether material, mental, or even abstract concepts like
time, are devoid of objective, independent existence. To possess such
independent, intrinsic existence would imply that things are therefore entirely
self-contained. This would mean that nothing has the capacity to interact and
exert influence on other phenomena.” Dalai Lama, The Universe in a Single Atom

I walked into my local convenience store this morning to get a couple of cans
of Celsius; I switched after years of drinking only smart water. No, it does
not increase my IQ by more than a small percentage with each bottle, but it has
no metallic taste, and it is essentially distilled water with electrolytes
added. Another advertising pitch: I could make a fortune if I were signed with all
these commercial entities. As we talked with one of my Muslim friends, I wished
him a Happy Halloween, and it hit me. Halloween was an attempt in the old days
of allowing pagan rituals into the Christian domain back in the days of
assimilating cultures as you conquer. What was interesting is that it was then
followed by All Saints’ Day, which was observed until the holiday was dropped
by the Church, to beg forgiveness for the previous day.

But it is always interesting where our traditions and history take us and
will take us. Borrowing a line from the Dalai Lama’s above quote. “All things
and events, whether material, mental or even abstract concepts like time, are
devoid of objective, independent existence.” At the time, it was a necessary
evil to allow All Hallows’ Eve and get the pagans to follow in line. As the day
changed and All Saints’ Day seemed no longer needed, the church discounted it
as a holy day. It might have had something to do with me being born on that day,
too.

“My plea is that we bring our spirituality, the fullness and simple
wholesomeness of our basic human values, to bear upon the course of science and
the direction of technology in human society. In essence, science and
spirituality, though offering different approaches, share the end, which is the
betterment of humanity.” The Dalai Lama

“The whole point of science is that there are no facts, only theories. You
don’t believe these things; they are working hypotheses that the next bit of
information can transform. We are taught not to hang on but to stay open.”
Joseph Campbell, Pathways to Bliss

As I read the Dalai Lama’s words, it reminded me of the passage from
Campbell, recognized as one of the leaders in comparative mythology.

“The first fact that distinguishes the human species from all others is that
we are born too soon. We arrive incapable of taking care of ourselves for
something like fifteen years. Puberty doesn’t come along for twelve years or
more, and physical maturity doesn’t arrive until our early twenties. During the
greater part of this long arc of life, the individual is in a psychological
dependency. We are trained as children so that every stimulus, every
experience, leads us to react.” Joseph Campbell, Pathways to Bliss

As I sat thinking on this passage, my mind drifted over to a book I am
reading, Kent Nerburn’s The Wolf at Twilight, again. Nerburn goes back to the
Sioux reservation to help an old friend search for his sister, who has been
gone for nearly eighty years. One comment comes up in a discussion about
handshakes. Nerburn questions how they could tell he was unfamiliar with Sioux
ways, and they say it was by the handshake. A white man shakes hands hard,
exerting force, wanting to maintain control, power, and masculinity. A Sioux
shakes hands lightly and softly, not imposing dominance over the person whose
hand is being shaken. It is a matter of how we are raised. The cultural biases
and societal influences provide the basis for who we are. Perhaps this is where
I am concerned in our quest for education and society: too often, we choose
simplicity and measurable data. Are we leaving out the spiritual and actually setting
science by the wayside? We seem to want answers, solid data, and facts. So many
people want laws in science and not theories. So many people want one way in
religion and forget the spirituality aspect of what it is they seek.

“Good teachers possess a capacity for connectedness. They can weave a
complex web of connections among themselves, their subjects, and their students
so that students can learn to weave a world for themselves…… The connectedness
made by good teachers is held not in their methods but in their hearts –
meaning heart in its ancient sense, as a place where intellect and emotion and
spirit and will converge in the human self.” Parker Palmer, The Courage to
Teach

I first read Parker Palmer about thirteen years ago in a book club meeting
where our then principal used The Courage to Teach as one of our readings.
Parker Palmer emphasizes that teachers choose to teach from the heart because
they desire to do something for humanity. Many of his themes touch on spirituality
within teaching. This idea of connectedness ties into my thoughts today, along
with some of the others I have quoted and used. In recent months, I have become
a fan of Dr. Michael Tianusta Garrett, former Department Chair of Guidance at
the University of Florida. His books, along with his father’s, are based on the
Cherokee Nation. Many of his thoughts on guidance reflect his own understanding
and outlook, shaped by his Native American heritage.

“Native peoples view all things as having spiritual energy and importance.
All things are connected, all things have life, and all things are worthy of
respect and reverence. Spiritual being essentially requires that individuals
seek their place in the universe; everything else will follow in good time.
“Dr. Michael Tianusta Garrett, Walking in the Wind

I have wandered today, and yet perhaps not strayed from where I was going in
my journey, and I will end with perhaps my favorite author, Kent Nerburn.

“Spiritual growth is honed and perfected only through practice. Like an
instrument, it must be played. Like a path, it must be walked. Whether through
prayer or meditation or worship or good works, you must move yourself in the
direction of spiritual betterment.” Kent Nerburn, Simple Truths

“It is the sense that comes over us as we stare into the starlit sky or
watch the last fiery rays of a sunset. It is the morning shiver as we wake up
on a beautiful day and smell richness in the air that we know and love from
somewhere we can’t quite recall. It is the mystery behind the beginning of time
and beyond the limits of space. It is a sense of otherness that brings alive
something deep in our hearts.” Kent Nerburn, Simple Truths

I had actually started to be rather short and be done with it today, but got
caught up in my own wanderings and readings. It has been over ten years since I
ended my daily thoughts with this phrase, and again, looking at the news and
listening to what is going on in the world, I will close with my traditional
last statement. Please keep all in harm’s way on your minds and in your hearts,
and always give thanks. Namaste.

My family and friends, I do not say this lightly,

Mitakuye Oyasin

(We are all related)

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