Thursday, February 5, 2015

What is your "medicine?"

Discovering Your Power

You have a responsibility to discover your medicine. And once you discover it, now your responsibility is to share it.”
John Malloy (All Life Is Sacred, Parabola, Spring, 2015)

John Malloy is a founding father of The Foundry School for kids who've been in Juvenile Detention or Prison. His religion, which he's practiced for more than forty years, is Native American Spirituality. In his interview with Richard Whittaker in the Spring edition of Parobola, he says, “If you're comparing yourself like, 'I can't read like him,' or 'I can't run like him,' or 'I can't paint like that,' you're basically putting coats over your power—which is a Native way of saying, 'missing your medicine.'” His job is to help young people find their own medicine, their gifts. Each of us must discover what we have to offer to the world, and then find ways to do just that. John Malloy says we must become servants for the rest of our lives—that we can't go to heaven until we have completed our earth walk, and we are here to serve.

This may sound a bit punitive. Who among us wants to be a servant for life? Surprisingly, we humans are happiest when we are living out our gifts—when our “medicine” finds a way to manifest in our everyday lives. So, if you're not a reader, not a runner, not a painter, what exactly are you? Find that, and you will love the life you lead.

One of the principles for success at The Foundry School is doing things together—no one lives in isolation. Every year they make a 500 mile run from La Paz and Tehachapi to Los Angeles as a group. They consider themselves spiritual runners, not competitive runners. This training teaches young people who would otherwise have lived on the streets or in prison, to have confidence in themselves and in their spiritual family. Malloy says, “Americans train individually. They keep secrets. Indigenous runners do everything together.”

Today, take time to ponder your “medicine.” There are many things we can't do well, but all of us have powerful gifts that are meant to be shared. What are yours?

                                                                In the Spirit,
                                                                    Jane




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