Painting by Kirby Sattler
The first American mingled with his pride a singular humility.
Spiritual arrogance was foreign to his nature and teaching.
He never claimed that his power of articulate speech
was proof of superiority over "dumb creation" ;
on the other hand, speech is to him a perilous gift.
He believes profoundly in silence -
the sign of a perfect equilibrium.
Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind, and spirit.
The man who preserves his selfhood ever calm
and unshaken by the storms of existence -
not a leaf, as it were, astir on the tree,
not a ripple upon the surface of the shining pool -
his, in the mind of the unlettered sage,
is the ideal attitude and conduct of life .....
Silence is the cornerstone of character.
Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)
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