Meditation by Chief Tecumseh

So live your life that the fear of death can nev­er enter your heart. Trou­ble no one about their reli­gion; respect oth­ers in their view, and demand that they respect yours.

Love your life. Per­fect your life. Beau­ti­fy all things in your life.

Seek to make your life long and its pur­pose in the ser­vice of your peo­ple. Pre­pare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meet­ing or pass­ing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lone­ly place. Show respect to all peo­ple and grov­el to none.

When you arise in the morn­ing give thanks for the food and for the joy of liv­ing. If you see no rea­son for giv­ing thanks, the fault lies only in your­self.

Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spir­it of its vision.

When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a lit­tle more time to live their lives over again in a dif­fer­ent way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.

Chief Tecum­seh (1768–1813), Shawnee Nation

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