I watched this movie recently, Brother Bear, in which the hero, Kinai's, brother dies and becomes a bird, an eagle, and as the eagle-spirit, guides his two younger brothers to realize the meaning of their totems and to become men. I like the philosophy of the Native Americans- the concept of the Great Spirit, of the equality of all living beings, of becoming part of the great spirit after death, of being able to hope for some contact with your loved ones even when they are no longer there. Kinai's brother was always there for him, always around, watching over him, teaching him, guiding him.
I found this great prayer on the net. It is a Native American prayer, simple and free from any pretensions, rituals, or such like.
"Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind,
Whose breath gives life to all the world.
Hear me; 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.
Help me to remain calm and strong in the face of all that comes towards me.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
Help me seek pure thoughts and act with the intention of helping others.
Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me.
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."
Sometimes praying helps. When you have had too much of life, try a prayer, not necessarily this one. I just included it because it kinda lightened me.
I will repeat here what I always say in my logs, because I myself need to hear it today. Life hurts. It gives you so much sorrow that it feels like a real, physical pain. Sometimes it hurts so much that you just want to escape somewhere into oblivion. But that is not the solution. There are better ways to lessen your pain than by escaping. Try a prayer today instead of the bottle. The effect may not be instantaneous but it definitely lasts.
