A Solemn Prayer

The Old Way

Sitting on the grassy hill yonder over the rolling prairies, man prays. He prays to the Creator, who is mysterious in his ways, but stamped all of his creatures with his fingerprint. Everything in the universe is connected in one way or another. The four-legged, the winged, and the many flowers which decorate the prairie and mountains. Everything in this world is interconnected. Man eats the buffalo, the buffalo eats the grass, and when the buffalo dies, he is in turn eaten by the earth, nourishing the soil. This is the cycle that shall repeat itself for as long as there is life.

Sunflowers, The Badlands of South Dakota - Thomas James Caldwell

“My heart is much more contented when I sit alone with my medicine pipe and talk with the Great Medicine about whatever may he troubling me.”

Wooden Leg - Cheyenne

In prayer, the heart and mind are the most truthful. Even the greatest of warriors surrenders himself in humility before the Creator. A solemn prayer that comes from the heart is the most powerful. The silence during deep prayer is not awkwardness, but clarity, and a vow made is never broken. The old buffalo days may be gone, but the heart of man remains the same. Buried beneath the clutter of social media and superficial personalities remains the same beating heart that beat 150 years ago in the Black Hills.

Prayer to the Mystery - Edward Curtis