The action of words

Saturday's mailbox is preparing for a goodly rain, but not before revealing these notes of gratitude:

Yesterday's attibuted quote by John F. Kennedy – “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them” – reflected Miribai Starr and led to my own reflection on the call to us to walk our talk:

Many are the gifts we have received, unacknowledged, from the aeons of interconnectedness with all phenomena and epiphenomena. Acknowledgement is slowly emerging of our indebtedness to our ancestral and contemporary indigenous cousins. With their traditional knowledge of the land, water and skies, indigenous communities throughout the US and Canada, as well as across the globe, are reconnecting to their roots and re-learning their ancestral ways of being. They are building bridges to heal the Western and capitalist mindset that has historically attempted to obliterate their presence – by cultural destruction, desecration, erasure, violence, colonization, and outright attempted genocide. We are called to recognize those to whom we are endebted as a first step toward being forgiven for our own. That requires a willingness to recognize our endebtedness and act with more than words. You might start with a Google Search for ways to support indigenous people.

That said, the words are important. Said with sincerity, words initiate action, they release much needed healing energy into the world around us. Fr. Rohr posted this lovely Hindu prayer said before meals:

This ritual is One. The food is One. We who offer the food are One. The fire of hunger is also One. All action is One. We who understand this are One. – from the Bhagavad Gita