Elder's Meditation of the Day April 1

A message to all members of Traveling within the World

Elder's Meditation of the Day April 1


"People think other things are more important than prayer, but they are mistaken."
--Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
An Elder once said the most important thing you can do in the course of a day is to pray. If we get up late or oversleep, which is more important? Rush to work without praying or pray first and then go to work? The Elders say it's more important to pray. If we get angry, should we act on our anger or should we pray first? The Elders say it's more important to pray first. If, during the day, we face indecision, what should we do? PRAY. If, during the day, we become irritated or we experience fear, what should we do first? PRAY. The Warrior who prays first will lead a different life from those who pray last.



Great Spirit, teach me to pray first!



Spell of the day:

Creative Trickery

Thursday
April Fools' Day

Color of the day: Green
Incense of the day: Mulberry


Creative Trickery
Rabbit, a trickster in the myths of cultures in North America and Africa (as well as modern myths such as Watership Down by Richard Adams), is particularly appropriate for this day. While Rabbit (as with any trickster) should be approached with care, he tends to be gentle in his lessons. Rabbit and his children are renowned for their fertility. While fertility is often taken literally, as procreation of various species, it can also mean more general growth. As spring is the beginning of the growing season in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s a great time for putting projects and endeavors into motion. When things go wrong, ask the trickster for tips on creative solutions:
Rabbit, Rabbit, as you run
Stop a moment by my fire
To teach, to show, and to inspire
Some fertile growth (and a lot of fun!)


by Lupa



Buddhist Quote of the Day:

The impulse "I want" and the impulse "I'll have"--lose them! That is where most people get stuck--without those, you can use your eyes to guide you through this suffering state.



-Sutta Nipata


.Hindu Quote of the Day:



Without love in the heart, Life is like a sapless tree in a barren desert. What good is a body perfect in outer ways, If inwardly it is impaired by lack of love? With love enshrined in the heart, one lives. Without it, the body is but bone encased in skin.



Tirukkural 8:78-80



THOR of the Day:


Look Before You Leap

Prior to initiating action, a wise person takes time to learn about his objective. He wants to know exactly what he faces. Essential factors are researched, be they a matter of location, strength, complexity, etc. This applies to everything from buying a house to building a railroad to launching a raid. The more that is known about the objective, the greater the chance of success. Knowledge is indeed power.

The Havamal counsels one to look before he enters a place. Good military tactics always begin with efforts to learn the disposition of terrain and the enemy. Planners of roadways send surveying teams and engineers to scout the best route before any actual work is undertaken. Businesses do market research and send out folks to gather information before launching a sales campaign or building a new store location. The goal of all these efforts is the same: to know before taking action.

Look before you leap!

The opposite of foreknowledge is impetuousness and carelessness. We all know at least one person who acts on impulse. He does not take the time to look before he moves. Rather, he sallies forth with little or know knowledge of what lies before him. A good example of this is Colonel George Custer just prior to his Last Stand. Custer charged into the Indians without utilizing his scouts. He thought he was hitting the weaker part of an Indian camp, but instead was being led into a trap by the main Indian force. This kind of careless abandon is symbolized as the Fool to the Tarot: he who leaps before he looks.

There is a reason why armies expend so much effort on reconnaissance and businesses spend so much money on market research. They want to know before they go. Millenia of experience shows that the greatest chance of success lies with he who knows the most about his objective.

Look before you leap.

Know before you go

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