Jacquelyn Powell - Outside 2

“In the world of the Indians, Christian notions of good and evil have been viewed in terms of balance and imbalance, harmony and disharmony. Indeed in past times, ideals of behavior that were taught by the elders to promote harmony – unselfishness, patience, forgiveness – were necessary for the very survival of the community in a harsh and variable wilderness.” P11
After reading several books on Native American religion and lifestyles, I have decided that they are one of the few cultures that truly know how to live the good life. Yes, they may have had hardships, but spiritually, I believe they were very well off. Even without Christian views, they managed to have several of the main beliefs and values that people today strive for such as not being selfish, being patient, forgiving, and many more. But instead of looking at it as good and bad or good and evil, they make it their own responsibility to live right and be the best person they can be. They had full understanding that their actions not only affected their lives, but also everyone’s around them too. I feel like in our society today, we have no respect ofr anyone else and we are very selfish. We constantly try to better our own lives and then we turn around and complain about how the world isn’t peaceful and complain about wars. If we were more proactive about leading better lives, and simply started it at home, I think the world would be a better place. We need to look at the Native American traditional lifestyle as an example of how to lead our own.