Happy Thanksgiving 2024!!!
"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings."
~ William Arthur Ward
My gratitude for Young Living Essential Oils is beyond what can be adequately expressed in words. Young Living members, those of us in the field and corporate, have become my greater family. The bonds we share are deep and profound.
More than that, Young Living's products have brought me, my immediate family, and so many we have all touched, to an expanded state of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. That would be more than enough in itself, but on top of that, Young Living's income opportunity has blessed me with a way to support myself and my family without having to compromise who I am--I make a living by promoting health and well-being . . . and have the time freedom to do it, or anything else I want . . . what could be better than that?
Thanksgiving, because it is a celebration of gratitude, is my favorite holiday. Every Thanksgiving, around the dinner table, we read a Native American Prayer of Thanksgiving.
• For the prayer, click on: The Words Before All Else — A Native American Prayer of Thanksgiving
• For a printable version of the prayer, click on: The Words Before All Else
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The Words Before All Else
Over a thousand years ago in America, a prophet called the Peacemaker brought unity to a group of warring tribes in upstate New York through the "Great Law of Peace." These five Native American tribes—the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca—joined together to become the Iroquois Confederacy, in a brilliant structure of democratic rule that later influenced the Founding Fathers in their creation of the Constitution of the United States. The Peacemaker also imparted spiritual teachings on respectful action through his "Good Words," as they are known. The following greeting and thanksgiving honors our unity with one another and with all creation.
These sacred and powerful Good Words, also known as "The Words Before All Else," are still spoken today before every gathering and ceremony of the Iroquois. A speaker is chosen. He follows a certain format and, inspired in the moment, shares his own feelings about each part of creation mentioned. Hearing their names and good words spoken about them, they are encouraged to perform their duties. The hearts and minds of all who hear the greeting are united, and are in turn inspired with gratitude for the whole of creation.
The Great Peacemaker instructed the Iroquois to share The Words Before All Else with all people. As you read you may be inspired to offer your own giving of thanks and praise between the beginning and ending of each verse—your own heart's Good Words.
We give thanks and greetings to the People, and we think
of the people that have been, the ones that are and the ones
that will be. We ask for protection for all of the people that
carry forth our traditions. We thank all of the people for
performing their duties to the best of their abilities.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to Mother Earth. It is she who is
the life-giver. The earth has given us all the food, clothing, and
shelter that we need. We know all of creation comes from her
and someday shall return to her. We thank the Mother Earth
for performing her duties to the best of her ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to the Plant Life. Among the plants
are the plants that bring us beauty, that encourage our minds and
make us think well of all of our surroundings. It is the plant life
that sustains our bodies and spirits. We thank all of the plant life for
performing their duties to the best of their ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to the Medicine Plants.
There are the roots and the barks, the berries and leaves and the
small plants; all of these medicine plants serve all life. We care for
them and we remember them and we thank them for performing
their duties to the best of their ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to the Foods. Each time we mention
them, we remember the story of the time they were going to
leave the earth because no one cared for them. We asked them to
stay and told them if they would stay we would remember them
and say Good Words about them in our ceremonies. We thank
the foods for performing their duties to the best of their ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to the Bodies of Water, the bodies
of water on the land where the fish and water plants live. And we
thank the bodies of wafer that are up in the air that as they fall to
earth sustain life everywhere. We thank the bodies of water for
performing their duties to the best of their ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to the Animals. We thank the
animals of our clans, the bear; the turtle, and the wolf. And
we thank the other animals: the four-legged, the two-legged, the
winged ones, the finned ones, the crawling ones, and the ones
that live in our homes as our friends. We thank the animals for
performing their duties to the best of their ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to the Trees. Among these trees are
the maple tree, the tree that brings us sweet syrup as medicine.
And next to the maple tree is the great pine tree which is our
symbol of the Great Peace that the Peacemaker gave us. We thank
the trees for performing their duties to the best of their ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to the Birds. Among these birds is
the eagle, the one who can fly the highest and see the furthest.
And we thank all the other birds that provide us with beauty and
songs that please our eyes and calm our minds. We thank all the
birds for performing their duties to the best of their ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to the Four Winds, the winds
that bring us warmth in the winter and coolness in the
summer, the winds that take our words and carry them far,
all across the land. We thank the winds for performing
their duties to the best of their ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to our Grandfathers, the
Thunders. We thank the thunders for coming to earth with
their loud voices, which always remind us that they are the
carriers of the water to sustain life. And we thank the thunders
for bringing the fire from the sky into the rocks and we thank
them for giving us the ability to know how to take the fire
from the rocks. And we thank our Grandfathers, the Thunders,
for performing their duties to the best of their ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to the Sun, our Eldest Brother,
the one who brings us the day and the warmth, the one that also
tells us that to have balance on the earth there is night and there
is day and there is good and there is evil. We thank our Brother
Sun for coming to earth to make everything grow. And we thank
him for performing his duties to the best of his ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to the Grandmother Moon.
It is she who controls all of the times of birth of all living things.
When her face is fully seen she makes the bodies of water
on the earth move. We thank the Grandmother Moon
for performing her duties to the best of her ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to the Stars. These are the ones
who are the helpers of the Grandmother Moon. The stars tell us
of things that have been and will be. We thank the stars for
performing their duties to the best of their ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and a greeting to the Four Messengers.
These come from the four directions in times of need and
in times of joy and whisper to our minds Good Words
to encourage us. We thank the Four Messengers for
performing their duties to the best of their ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to all of the Teachers from everywhere.
They told us that we are to keep their Good Words
to guide us to Good Ways to live a Good Life. We thank
these teachers for bringing their message and
performing their duties to the best of their ability.
And now our minds are one.
We give thanks and greetings to the Creator. It is at this
time that we use our best words. We thank the Creator for
bringing the original duties and responsibilities to each
of us in His creation and for giving us the knowledge that on
earth good and bad things happen, as it is supposed to be.
And we thank the Creator for all He has given us.
And now our minds are one.
If there are things we have forgotten, we ask people
to make their own words in their own time.
Donetah. "So it is."