The Eagle and the Rose (28 page)

Does it have to be like this?

He answers, No. But it is your choice. Yours … and yours … and yours.

He answers, No. But each man, each woman, each child, must do his or her part. It is for you to choose, and you … and you … and you.

And the eyes of the spirit world are sad.

I hear their collective voice …. They ask, Will you listen? Will you learn? Where is the willing student?

I look to Grey Eagle and ask, What is the key?

And with much feeling he replies,
GENTLENESS.
Your world needs
GENTLENESS.

There is a new world waiting to be born—your world—awaiting a rebirth.

Each individual, man, woman, child, is the mother of the world, will cradle the world and will dictate its destiny.

And how, I ask my guide, do we nurture this child yet to be born?

He answers, With gentleness, and only with gentleness.

So many of us in this
DOG EAT DOG
world see gentleness and perceive weakness. We use phrases like “If you want to get on in life, get tough.” Be ruthless … and yet to have
“ruth”
means to have pity or compassion. To be without
ruth,
to be
ruthless,
is damaging to the soul, damaging to the world. We see someone as tough, and we perceive strength, and we perceive power.

And so we live in this
DOG EAT DOG
world, condoning violence, all the while using harsh words and tough actions, teaching our children the art of ruthlessness.

And I ask Grey Eagle, How can we learn?

He answers, With gentleness, only with gentleness.

The definition of “gentleness” according to the
Concise Oxford Dictionary
is: “not rough, mild, or kind—especially in temperament, moderate, not severe or drastic, honourable, quiet, requiring patience, generous, courteous.”

But we are mere mortals, and with our human faults and frailties, how can we hope to achieve the art of gentleness in the fullest sense of the word?

And as I write I hear Grey Eagle speak:

“Try, you can but try, and the universe shakes and becomes brighter—and we have hope.”

I look to my guide, so strong, so powerful and wise.

His gentle nature calms and soothes me. I strive to be like him.

I see his gentleness, and I do not see him weak, I perceive great strength.

I see gentleness and I perceive power.

I learn by his example and dare to be gentle, too. First with myself, then with others.

It is so hard, for I too have been raised in this
DOG EAT DOG
world, and I am afraid. What when I fail, as I so often do? Then I remember:
DOG EAT DOG … SOUL EAT SOUL.

There is a new world waiting to be born, each individual the mother of this world.

And, as I try, the universe shakes and becomes brighter—and
I
have hope.

And so the day goes, a million questions in my head, but only a handful asked.

I will share with you in this book just five questions, questions that many have asked. I will ask and give you Grey Eagle's answers. But don't be surprised if the answers he gives create more and more questions looking for answers.

Question:
Grey Eagle, why is it that we mortals can be so cruel to each other sometimes?

Answer:
I will laugh at the naivetÉ of this question, for of course you know the answer. And each child comes to the earth … must stretch, must open wide, must experience, must try many things … will test himself as well as others.

And what better testing ground than the playground in which your children will run and shout and laugh and cry?

And what better testing ground than that of the playground?

And each parent must educate his child and talk of sensitivity and tolerance.

Must talk of understanding and communication. But there are many Who do not do these things.

And so the child who will naturally test and stretch himself and others will look to his parents, will look to his teachers, will look to the adult … will not learn by your fine words, but will learn by example only.

And the parent who talks of tolerance, and yet shows none, will develop an intolerant child.

And the parent who talks of charity, but gives none, will develop a charityless child.

And the parent who talks of communication, but talks so much he fails to listen, will have a child who screams and shouts and yells and will not communicate.

And those small children are not cruel, but yet experiencing, developing, and growing.

And the cruel act and the cruel deed will come only by example.

For each child is beautiful, born pure.

And each child is born with gentleness and sensitivity.

And each parent will have the opportunity to develop that sensitivity and that
GENTLENESS.

But your fine words and your fine explanations will not be an influence upon the child, for the child's eyes will see all.

For children are knowing creatures.

And will learn by example only.

Question:
Grey Eagle, if we pray for God's forgiveness, will He give it to us?

Answer:
God will heed your request. He will look into your heart, and if this request is born of truth, and of love, and comes from the heart, then God will take you to Him.

But this truly is not a matter for God. For we will know, because we are wiser than you, that the important question here is, “Will you forgive yourself?”

For unless you can forgive yourself with humility, with kindness, with
GENTLENESS
, and with understanding for your own limitations … unless you can look into your heart and truly forgive yourself, then no matter who else says to you, “I absolve you of your sins,” you will not be at peace.

For true peace comes from within.

Question:
Grey Eagle, in a material world is it wrong to desire material things?

Answer:
I will not talk to you here of right or wrong.

The use of these words does not apply.

I will only tell you that if you put material comfort above all things, then you will damage your growth.

And it is for you to choose whether you wish to do this or not to do this.

But nowhere is it written that a man cannot lie down and place his head on a comfortable pillow.

And nowhere is it written that a man may not place a fur wrap around him to keep himself warm.

Remember only, know only, that material wealth is no more a key to heaven than poverty.

Know only that when it is your time to leave the earth plane, and to begin your life anew, the wealth that you bring with you will be the wealth of learning that you have gained which is within your heart.

If a man may choose to have a silk cushion or a hard rock to lie his head upon, then why should he not choose the silk cushion?

And God will not judge him harshly.

And if a man may choose to swim in a blue lagoon, or to walk in a hot dusty desert, then would he not be foolish if he did not choose to swim in the blue lagoon?

There is no need for man to punish himself, to deprive himself of his comforts, except only if this deprives another and hurts another. And so, if your material comfort is important to you, then why should it not be so?

But remember this. And I will say this to you, and from my heart.

The most beautiful thing is the love of the heart.

The most beautiful thing is the ease of the heart and the comfort of the heart.

And if you deprive yourself of this one small thing, then do not be surprised if your silk cushion becomes tearstained.

And do not be surprised if the blue lagoon becomes muddied with the unseen blood which you have shed.

First, give to the heart, and all else will follow in its own time.

Question:
Grey Eagle, how can we deal with our own hurt feelings while striving to understand another who seems to have wronged us?

Answer:
In your world there are many who will refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions … and, first, you must be prepared to accept that responsibility.

Blame … fault … these are words that you will use.

A finger pointed at another in accusation.

A finger, often harshly, pointed at your own self in accusation.

Where is your
GENTLENESS?

Where is the softness that the soul demands?

Where is the love … true loving, which comes from deep within?

A love of life … the love of your own soul?

Where is the stillness within you?

Do you believe that it is truly gone?

Do you question that it was ever there?

Oh, be still, my children … oh, be still … be quiet … and listen.

Your own soul, and the heartbeat of your soul, whisper to you …. Be still, and do not fear this
GENTLENESS …
for without it, you will always blame … you will always judge.

Discover this
GENTLENESS
, which is your own true heart.

Look to yourself, in any given circumstance, before you should look to another.

Accept the responsibility of your soul and your own spiritual growth, for you and no other … have the power to be still.

Question:
Grey Eagle, how best can we deal with life's crises?

Answer:
So many of you here on the earth plane walk through your lives in darkness. You turn to the light briefly, in times of need, then turn away.

When you turn from the light, you turn away from God … and, inevitably, you turn inward, and you become closed … and you hold your pain to you … and then the seed of the soul cannot grow, for it needs light to grow.

Turn your face to the light, for in that light you will find warmth … you will find healing … and you will find love.

Accept that all things given are a gift to you and part of your learning process.

Take your courage in your hands and step into the light.

Turn your face to the sun and allow God's light to shine down upon you.

For you are children of God, and as children, if you reach out your hand, God will take it, and He will hold it firm, and He will steer you to a greater understanding of your own self … and He will give you His strength.

He will not stem the flow of tears, nor will He wash away your pain … but He will take you to His breast and comfort you.

Come, sit by my fire.

Hold out your hands to the flame and be comforted by the warmth of it.

But understand that there are many who keep this fire going.

My fire needs kindling.

My fire needs those of you who will labor … who will go out and collect kindling to place on the fire.

The fire is there for all, and there are many who will come and sit by the fire. They will warm themselves … they will feel comforted … and then they will turn away to continue their lives.

There are those of you who will come and sit by my fire, and you will marvel at the height of the flames and be grateful for the warmth that the fire gives out.

And when you are truly comforted, you will turn away and continue with your lives.

And then there are those of you who will come and sit by my fire, and you will see how tall the flames grow … and you gain comfort from the warmth of the flames. And when you have been comforted enough, there are those of you who will then recognize that if the fire is to continue burning, in order that the many should be comforted, then there is work to be done and kindling to be found.

Come, all of you, and sit by my fire.

We demand nothing from you.

We ask that you give nothing … except only if you want to do so.

Come, sit by my fire and listen to the wise words.

Listen to the crackle of the sticks as the heat of the flame burns through them.

Watch the sparks fly … each spark is a light … each spark is truth … each spark is a knowing.

Come, sit by my fire, and I will warm you….

I look to my guide, Grey Eagle, and with gratitude in my heart that he should share his wisdom with me, I say to him:

“I am but a student … a willing student.”

David

W
hen answering the question “Why are we mortals so cruel to each other sometimes?” Grey Eagle says:

“And each of us must talk of
sensitivity
and
tolerance
,must talk of
understanding
and
communication.
”

These last chapters show not only how cruel we mortals can be, but how cruel life itself can be. Yet what seems cruel can teach us of our sensitivity. What appears harsh can show us how easily we lack tolerance. What seems unfair can lead us to a greater understanding, and what confuses and muddles us will show the need for communication.

When David lived here on the earth plane, he was unable to communicate, but his experience of life here, his mortal life, taught him many things. This young man, I was to discover, was born brain-damaged and lived most of his life on this side bound to a wheelchair. Unable to walk or talk, or do anything for himself, David was totally dependent on his parents and his sister.

As he grew older it became more and more difficult for his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harrison, to manage, but they refused to put their son into a home. It was important to them that they take care of David themselves, no matter how hard it was.

There are many people in the Harrisons’ position who find themselves with a terrible decision to make. Do they struggle to keep their child at home, or do they put their child into care? Some parents find it impossible to cope with the problems that their disabled offspring bring and are forced through circumstance to send their children away. Others, like June Harrison and her husband, keep their children at home.

Neither way is easy, and the decisions can be heartbreaking. But for the Harrisons, keeping their son at home with them was a decision they never regretted.