“When we want to talk to Him we burn tobacco and it takes our prayers all the way up to the Sky World.”
-Louis Farmer, ONONDAGA
Our herbs and medicines are here to serve. Offering tobacco as a gift to the Creator is a proper use of our medicine. This helps us communicate from the physical world to the spiritual world. Sometimes, when our lives are chaotic, finding the right words to pray can be difficult. The tobacco and sage take our intent to the spirit world. The meaning behind the words is more important than the words themselves. The Creator always knows our intent, and the tobacco helps us reach the Sky World.
Being Prudent with Our Obligations
”. . . we learn to take on obligations thoughtfully to ensure that we can follow through on what we’ve promised.”
Looking back at our active addiction, most of us can see a clear theme: Moderation was not a strength for us. If something is enjoyable, worthwhile, valuable in any way—why not get as much as we possibly can of that thing? The fact that we never seem to be satisfied was a crippling weakness for most of us.
In recovery, some of us find our lack of satisfaction can be almost like a hidden superpower: We raise the bar higher and higher for ourselves, leaping over past achievements by doing things we thought we could never do. Being difficult to satisfy can prompt some of us to achieve a lot in recovery. However, we are still addicts, and we run the risk of spreading ourselves too thin.
We may be inclined to think of prudence as being careful with our money, which is a difficult lesson most of us must learn at some point in our recovery. However, prudence can apply to any resource we have, including our time and attention. One member found himself struggling to fulfill his Fellowship commitments because “people told me I could never say ‘no’ to Fellowship requests.” He recalls his sponsor telling him, “If you’re feeling overcommitted, practice prudence by learning to say ‘no’ to Fellowship requests that get in the way of fulfilling other commitments you’ve already made.”
Our disease tells us if one is good, more is better. Prudence helps us to say “no” or “not yet” when that positive, fulfilling thing we want to do or be doesn’t fit on our full plate. If we finish what we have, we can go back for seconds!
I cannot be everywhere or do everything. I will practice prudence in my commitments by acknowledging my limitations.
Through the unity of Native wisdom and the spiritual principles of the Fellowship, we bridge our physical and spiritual worlds, embracing the help of our traditions and the practical wisdom of our recovery journey. This way, we walk a balanced, meaningful path.