Great Spirit of love, come to me with the power of the North.
Make me courageous when the cold winds of life fall upon me.

Give me strength and endurance for everything
that is harsh, everything that hurts,
everything that makes me squint.
Make me move through life
ready to take what comes from the North.

Spirit who comes out of the East,
come to me with the power of the rising sun.
Let there be light in my word.
Let there be light on the path that I walk.
Let me remember always that you give the gift of a new day.
Never let me be burdened with sorrow by not starting over.

Great Spirit of creation,
send me the warm and soothing winds from the South.
Comfort me and caress me when I am tired and cold.
Enfold me as your gentle breezes enfold your leaves on the trees.
And as you give to all the earth your warm, moving wind,
give to me so that I may brow close to you in warmth.

Great life-giving Spirit,
I face the West,
the direction of the sundown.
Let me remember every day that the moment will come
when my sun will go down.
Never let me forget that I must fade into you.
Give me beautiful color.
Give me a great sky for setting
and when it is time to meet you,
I come with glory.

And Giver of all life, I pray to you from the earth,
help me to remember as I touch the earth
that I am little and need your pity.
Help me to be thankful for the gift of the earth
and never to walk hurtfully on the world.
Bless me to love what comes from mother earth
and teach me how to love your gifts.

Great Spirit of the heaves,
lift me up to you
that my heart may worship you
and come to you in glory.
Hold in my memory that you are my Creator,
greater than I,
eager for my good life.
Let everything that is in the world
lift my mind,
and my heart,
and my life to you
so that we may come always to you
in truth and in heart.

Native American Traditional Prayer: there is no specific author or tribe for this prayer but it reflects the interconnectedness of all life that is the basis of their traditions.

This is a longish prayer but I was reluctant to edit any of the sections. I particularly like stanza four, “the West, the direction of sundown.” There are wonderful images of light.

In the so-called early or primitive religions the sun was the Deity itself, the source of all life, the heartbeat of matter. In our times we have lost the great truth of its presence and explain our star as a series of electromagnetic processes and measurements – a fiery furnace of star stuff that really has no connection with our personal reality.

The native American tradition reminds us of the interconnectedness of all life – matter in every stage of manifestation and evolution. We are each of us a sun, the center of our personal cosmic experience, and within our bodies spin miniature solar systems of life surrounded by the vastness of space.

“Give me a beautiful color. Give me a great sky for setting ….” What color would you chose for your final display? What vast sky would be the canvas for your goodbye? The sunset can be the glory of the day, filled with color and light, drama and mystery, and in those final seconds magnificent just before the instant it disappears.

We need not ask that we live forever but that we end our lives in glory, following the natural cycles of life. It reminds me of “And now, O Father, glorify Me, together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was.” (John 17:5)