Ann

"We all come from the same root, but the leaves are all different."
--John Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA

We all come from one Great Spirit but we are all different and unique. Nothing in the Great Creation has a twin that is identical. Even children that are twins are different. Every single person is extremely special and unique. Each person has a purpose and reason why they are on the Earth. Just like every leaf on a tree is different, each one is needed to make the tree look like it does. No leaf is better or worse than the other—all leaves are of equal worth and belong on the tree. It is the same with human beings. We each belong here and do things that will affect the great whole.

Great Spirit, today, let me see myself as a valuable contributor to the whole.

equus

I'll tell a story about a young fisherman who had taught himself 5 languages, who had been arrested and beaten by his country's army, who had worked from the age of 7 and kept his mother and 2 sisters from the age of 14. He had two terms in school, by the time I met him he was hooked on arrack - an alcoholic, but he would rescue puppies, he endlessly rescued puppies!! We talked because he liked to practice english so that one day he could do boat trips again.

"Your colour is good and mine is bad." He put his arm next to mine and pointed.
"What about our noses, who has the best nose?" I asked him pointing at my nose.
"Only Sudah (whites) think about noses and get the doctor to make them better. My nose not matter."
"My skin matters, it burns in the sun and doesn't shine, my nose doesn't matter, I won't go to a doctor. Colour doesn't matter except it keeps you from making the sun burn. Your colour is good."
"Then why all I see my colour wear no shoes? Your colour have 10 shoes!"
"I have 2 sets of shoes and my work boots, maybe she over there has 10 shoes but we are the same."
"Only same colour - she never smiling!! Never talking."
"WE are the same, we smiling, we talking; I'll show you."
I put my hand flat on the white plastic table and put his next to mine.
"One, two three four five." I count the fingers, then knuckles, nails, and turn over our hands and point at the marks on our palms, our finger prints. When I point to the finger prints he says:
"They are different!"
"Yes but they are both different, we both have only our finger print."

We count legs, I point at the whites and iris and pupils, knees and ears - the shape inside the ear.

"Why are we different? Everything the same, so many things the same, only colour different, why only colour matter?"
"Because your colour good, your colour teacher and I must listen."
I wanted to be angry at that till I saw him smile at his own cleverness.
"Then you must be right so I should listen while you teach."
"You listen then I teach you bad Sinhala."

We took a picture of our feet - I still have it. He is my brother, and he did teach me very bad Sinhala!