We were taught that we all came to this Earthwalk as Spirits learning to be a human, not as humans learning to be Spirits.

Being human is a complicated life path made simple by our original instructions given to us by our ancestors from what some call God, but what we are taught to be Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery, the Great Sacred of the Great Spirit. Spending over a third of my life learning from my Elders, trying not to close my mind to other people's teachings, (which I have been guilty of many times), I have learned not only the old traditional teachings of Chanunpa and Olowan (pipe and song) but the basic knowledge of balance in life.

So many of us "Talk the talk " but do not "Walk the walk". this is because our balance is off. We need to understand balance as it relates to our own individual lives before we can learn about balance outside of our personal space.

Learning personal balance is like a child learning to walk. I see my oldest child standing there holding on to a stick that I hold in my hand. With the support of the stick they walk around and around showing off there new skill. I let go of the stick and they continue to walk proudly. They look up and see that there is no longer some one holding the stick and they sit down.

The look of puzzlement on there face that says, " where did my balance go?" The first time they walked it was from my arms to the trusting arms of the family. These arms were there for them and they could trust in those arms to help them. The balance is there own and the path a straight one.

As I pray for the balance to be there for my children then, I do so today, I pray there balance is there own path, and that they walk in there own balance on this Earth Mother.

My children have had obstacles in there young lives, as we all have, but as in our way we must let the young learn to trust in there balance and to find there own way.

Each decision is made judging the good and the bad of the consequences of the choice. This is Wakan Tanka in it's simplest form. For nothing is all good or all bad.

When Wakinya the Thunder sends its glance upon the plains the fires that cause destruction also bring new life. When Iktomi the spider/trickster fools us, his tricks usually leave him worse off and us with a lesson learned. This is called balance and testing us to see if we remember that the invisible thread that connects us to the Sacred Tree is intact.

Old Uncle Fire told us of his life's balance lessons in his book, " Lame Deer Speaks." Living the wild young life only to come full circle to "Follow the Pipe". For the Pipe is a door that opens the lodge to knowledge of true balance in life.

No matter what people you come from, no matter your color or your place of origin, each People have the instructions of there First People. Those instructions tell them how to find balance in there lives. It is called tradition, or a way of life. People of multi-races must often learn the origin stories of all their ancestors before finding the balance they need.

Some may never know the their ancestor's original stories and will seek to find balance in others stories. Some think it is wrong to find balance in life from other Peoples stories. That thinking is wrong, for we all come from one origin and we all are attached to the Sacred Tree. We are all two legged and all of the same Earth Mother, our spirits are all from the same place the Great Mystery or Creator.

We know our balance comes from the Earth Mother and that we are all connected we know our place in the relationship to all things. As the Earth Mother moves we too move.

This Earth is what is left of our ancestors and the knowledge it for all to take and to use in there Earth Walk. It is not for sale it is there and given freely. Within the Earth Mother there is a heart that beats, and will give to all the balance to walk in a good way. This is the lesson and it is there for all who wish to learn.