John (Fire) Lame Deer · 352 pages
Rating: (1.5K votes)
“Before our white brothers came to civilize us we had no jails. Therefore we had no criminals. You can't have criminals without a jail. We had no locks or keys, and so we had no thieves. If a an was so poor that he had no horse, tipi or blanket, someone gave him these things. We were to uncivilized to set much value on personal belongings. We wanted to have things only in order to give them away. We had no money, and therefore a man's worth couldn't be measured by it. We had no written law, no attorneys or politicians, therefore we couldn't cheat. We really were in a bad way before the white men came, and I don't know how we managed to get along without these basic things which, we are told, are absolutly necessary to make a civilized society.”
― John (Fire) Lame Deer, quote from Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions
“All Creatures exist for a purpose. Even an ant knows what that purpose is--not with its brain, but somehow it knows. Only human beings have come to a point where they no longer know why they exist.”
― John (Fire) Lame Deer, quote from Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions
“If this earth should ever be destroyed, it will be by desire, by the lust of pleasure and self-gratification, by greed of the green frog skin, by people who are mindful of their own self, forgetting about the wants of others.”
― John (Fire) Lame Deer, quote from Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions
“Listen to the air. You can hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it. Woniya wakan—the holy air—which renews all by its breath. Woniya, woniya wakan—spirit, life, breath, renewal—it means all that. Woniya—we sit together, don’t touch,
but something is there; we feel it between us, as a presence. A good way to start thinking about nature, talk about it. Rather talk to it, talk to the rivers, to the lakes, to the winds as to our relatives.”
― John (Fire) Lame Deer, quote from Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions
“We make bear sounds, talk bear language when we are in a fighting mood. "Harrnh"--and you are as good as gone.”
― John (Fire) Lame Deer, quote from Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions
John (Fire) Lame Deer
Born place: South Dakota, The United States
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“At the end of the ceremony the crowd erupts in applause and Teague leans into me, still holding my hand. “I want you to meet someone,” he tells me. I follow him as he steps into some sort of line that has spontaneously formed behind one of the drummers. I watch as people bow before him like he is some sort of prophet.
“What are they doing?” I whisper.
“It’s a tradition.” He smiles quietly. “A way to show respect for elders.”
When it’s our turn, the two of us step in front of the man, our hands linked, as if we are bride and groom standing before a minister. I don’t know who this guy is, but I have butterflies. Teague bows. So I do too.
For the first time since that day in Sadie’s, Teague says something in his native language, then turns to me.
“Emily, this is my grandfather,” he says proudly. “Cal Denali.” The old man removes his colorful mask.
I know the smile.
My friend from Theona’s.
He reaches out and takes my hand in his and holds it for a very long while. He doesn’t say anything about Theona’s or, well, anything. His hand is warm and soft and strong for an old man. I feel like he is some sort of shaman, blessing me. And it doesn’t feel weird--it feels just the way my life is supposed to be.”
― Megan Shull, quote from Amazing Grace
“If you have a gun, you can shoot one, two, three, five people; but if you have an ideology and stick to it, thinking it is the absolute truth, you can kill millions.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, quote from Being Peace
“Myötätunnostani huolimatta en kuitenkaan pystynyt syventymään hänen ongelmiinsa - niin, kaikesta huolimatta on muutamia harvoja aloja, joilla lahjakkuuteni ei ole sitä tasoa kuin voisi odottaa, ja yksi niistä on koneoppi.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominpappa's Memoirs
“Sciences are differentiated according to the various means through which knowledge is obtained. For the astronomer and the physicist both may prove the same conclusion: that the earth, for instance, is round: the astronomer by means of mathematics (i.e. abstracting from matter), but the physicist by means of matter itself. Hence there is no reason why those things which may be learned from philosophical science, so far as they can be known by natural reason, may not also be taught us by another science so far as they fall within revelation. Hence theology included in sacred doctrine differs in kind from that theology which is part of philosophy. SECOND ARTICLE [I, Q.”
― Thomas Aquinas, quote from Summa Theologica, 5 Vols
“The dead," he had said once, "need nothing from the living, and the living can give nothing to the dead." At twenty-two, it had sounded precocious; at thirty-four, it sounded mature, and this pleased Michael very much. He had liked being mature and reasonable. He disliked ritual and pomposity, routine and false emotion, rhetoric and sweeping gestures. Crowds made him nervous. Pageantry offended him. Essentially a romantic, he had put away the trappings of romance, although he had loved them deeply and never known.”
― Peter S. Beagle, quote from A Fine and Private Place
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