Spring Greetings!
Our Monthly Theme: TRUTH
Our seventh and final Grandfather Teaching is on the value of truth.
In the Native American culture, all teachings are represented by an animal. The final teaching of truth is represented by the turtle.
It is said that in the beginning, when the Creator made man and gave him the Seven Sacred Teachings, the Grandmother Turtle was present to ensure that the laws would never be lost or forgotten.
The turtle also teaches us patience. As the turtle is one of the slowest moving creatures on Earth, it is she that seems to make it to her destination, no matter the length of time it may take her.
Grandmother turtle carries all the teachings with her. If you count the markings on her back, you will find 13 inner markings and 28 outer markings. This represents an old calendar of the days where many peoples followed the moon as their guide. During this time there were 13 months with 28 days each. This represented the truth of one cycle of the earth’s rotation around the sun (13 months) and the length of one month (28 days) with the cycle of the moon. The turtle reminds us of the cycles of the moon, the sun, the body and all of creation.
Grandmother turtle also carries her home on her back. She teaches us that all life is sacred. The shell of the turtle represents the body of real events and serves as a reminder of the importance of all the Grandfather’s Teachings. These signs are a confirmation of the truth which the turtle reflects. Each of the sacred teachings of courage, wisdom, humility, honesty, love, respect and truth is to be practiced in unison, together, not separate from the other.
As we reflect on the teaching of truth, I’m struck by how much more similar we all are than different from each other, how much we can learn from each other and if we look closely enough, how beautifully deep and rich our neighbors’ cultural traditions really are.
Always seek truth. Living the truth is living the seven teachings.
Excerpts from: Dave Bourchene Jr. and Cindy Crowe
Seven Grandfather’s Teachings: Courage-Wisdom-Humility-Honesty-Love-Respect-Truth