GENTLE BREEZE

Carrying the Scent of Flowers

written by Paulette Renee Broqueville

Gentle Breeze Carrying the Scent of Flowers is a story of a life gone by. A past that comes to us in the present as the whisperings of the Spirit, to inspire us, fill us with purpose, and give us a meaning to live.

“The Beginning

When I was a small girl, Running Water and I, Gentle Breeze, sat with Grandfather, Chief Rising Sun, and Grandmother, Listening Heart, to listen to the wisdom of their years pour out for us to learn and to grow.  I am called  Gentle Breeze Carrying the Scent of Flowers and he, Running Water Kissed by the Sun.  We grew up as children together.  As children, we were the best of friends, and then when we were grown we fell in love, and we became lovers.  And soit is, that on this, my wedding day, I shall start this story of how life has been for us up to this day of joy.

When I was a small girl, Running Water and I, Gentle Breeze, sat with Grandfather, Chief Rising Sun, and Grandmother, Listening Heart, to listen to the wisdom of their years pour out for us to learn and to grow.  I am called  Gentle Breeze Carrying the Scent of Flowers and he, Running Water Kissed by the Sun.  We grew up as children together.  As children, we were the best of friends, and then when we were grown we fell in love, and we became lovers.  And soit is, that on this, my wedding day, I shall start this story of how life has been for us up to this day of joy.

I raced back to the village from my mountain peak and the tranquility that the waters gave me.  My feet did not touch the ground for all the excitement within my heart.  My love for him joining his love for me filled my heart to over flowing.  Grandmother beckoned me to her side and spoke softly of love and loving.  To her, marriage was the joining of a man and a woman through whom the Great Spirit could express love.  She and Grandfather were full of wisdom, and people in need came to them to ask the questions that could not be answered, yet were.

“Why Can I Not Grow Up Faster”

Then, one day, a boy of only six winters asked, “Why does it take so long to grow big? Why can I not grow faster?”  Grandmother answered him saying, “The soul within the body is already grown.  The soul is old but the body is young,  and demands much from the soul.  The soul within the body must learn to command the body and its desires.  It is much easier to command the small boy.  When the soul has learned to command the small boy, then he is ready to command the man.  The body grows as the boy turns into a man.  The soul rules the body - the body does not rule the soul.  When the soul has learned how to rule the body, he has passed a test of manhood and womanhood.”

 

“What is my Life For?”

A man unsure of his place in life asked, “What is my life for? Why am I living?” and Grandmother answered him saying, “First the man must know himself as a vessel of the Father-Mother Spirit.  What is the purpose of the Great Spirit on earth, but to live and to act and to speak as one, in man and in woman. Would you not want your son or daughter to learn to be as you are?  You are a child of the Great One, and you are learning to be the vessel of the Spirit on earth, in thought, in word, and in deed.  Follow Mother Earth and Father Sky and you will know why you live, and what your life is for.  When a man knows himself as the vessel of the Great Spirit, he will know his own value, and it will be great.”

“And Who is Four Corners of the Wind?”

I was only five summers when I asked Grandmother, “Who is Four Corners of the Wind and where is he?” and Grandmother answered me saying, “Does she who needs you, not seek you out, and then would it not be true, that when you need the Four Corners of the Wind that he will be there for you, when you ask for him?  Is the Wind not a part of Father Sky whispering to you?  The Four Corners of the Wind breathed life into you when you were born.  The four Corners of the Wind plays with your hair and cools your body.  The Four Corners of the Wind goes wherever you go, and hears what you say, and what you think.  You are always surrounded by the Four Corners of the Wind so you will never feel alone.  The Four Corners of the Wind speaks to your Spirit, and inspires you when you are in need.  Can you not see the Four Corners of the Wind play with the leaves of the trees, and the grass in the field,  the waters of the lakes and the rivers - and even your hair?  Be at peace, Gentle Breeze, for you are named after the Four Corners of the Wind.”

 

"What is it when one only sees the Faults of Others?"

An then came a brave, tired of complaints and he asked, "What is it when one sees, only the faults of others?" and Grandmother answered him saying, "Does not a swan think itself a young duckling when it is raised with ducks? Does not a man think himself to be what other men are? Does not a son want to be like his father and a daughter want to be like her mother? We all learn how to be from those who surround us. When we are children we are too busy to notice the faults of others, but when we grow up, some, look with a critical eye at the people. Why is this so? Is not a child, wanting only of happiness, more concerned with what he does, than with what others are doing? His little life IS so rich and so full, that he does not have time to judge another's life. The parents must help the child grow up in wisdom without losing the child within the man. He who sees only what he believes to be a fault within the people is he who has learned to see the faults and to complain about them. The parents of such a man have taught him to still the child within his heart, by their example of complaints. And so it goes that when the child is silenced within the man, that his life stops, and all he can do is watch the lives of other men and women."

 

"Home, Family and Children"

A traveling brave came to our village one day and while sitting with Grandmother he asked, "What of home, family and children?" and she answered him saying, "Home is in your heart and where you are today. If you have love in your heart you are home wherever you are. The fire within the man is his soul and the soul within the man is his identity in The Great Spirit and The Great Spirit, as long as he is expressed in the man, rules his actions and where he goes. The man who lives like this is always where he should be and where the Father wants him to be. The man who runs and hides from the Great Spirit and searches everywhere for his soul has lost his way. He is running from life not towards life, and he is hiding only from himself The soul is there and always will be, if only the man will let him out. The man who moves from time to time and from place to place can be a man who is less free, than the man who makes a home in the village and lives there. The one who has no home is the one who has imprisoned his soul within the hardened walls of his heart."

And on FAMILY she said, "We are all in the same family, as sons and daughters of the Great One. Some of us are closer because we were made together when the Great Spirit made us man and woman spirits. To be closer means you are nearer in proximity and one always helps the one whose hand he can reach. Your family is who you are with today, because the hand that is outstretched is the hand that must be touched, fed or led. The Father determines your family and chooses the people you are with, you do not. Like the water in a waterfall, the water will fall - it has no choice. Love those you are with, when you are with them, and help those you are with, when they need you, because you may never get another chance to love that one."

Then she spoke of CHILDREN, and said, "We are all children of The Great Spirit. No one, no matter how old, is not a child. We can see that the child is imprisoned within the man, who is unbending - unyielding and ungiving. For in such a man life stands still. In the one who is the child, life is in constant motion, fluidity and change. He is spontaneous in thought, feeling and action. There, in this one, the Father can be - and is. Let The Spirit be free to be within the man and woman, and the child comes out. The child is the pure soul and the pure soul is power ruled by wisdom and wisdom ruled by love. Thus such a one is the Father in action, thought and feeling. This one is pure love and pure love asking nothing - receives all and gives all. It is a fire that can warm a nation - it is truly The Spirit loving The Spirit."