Feather in the Sand-

Last night as the sun was sinking into the hills and the moon rose behind me I found an Eagle Feather on the river. It has profound significance to my family being Native American. Eagle feathers are gifted on very rare occasions to honor people who are walking the “Good Path” or to those who have done something very great. The Native American people believe that to find an Eagle Feather while you are walking is just the same as being honored by the creator for keeping a harmonious balance in life. It is a sign that you are doing the right things and making good and honorable choices in your life. To find a feather as perfect as the one I found on the sand is very rare. I immediately gave the feather to my friend that I was with. Explaining the importance of a gift like this one is hard to do on the spot, but this friend has done great things for me, and I wanted to make sure I explained the meaning of the feather. This is from a web site I use on occasion. It is a good explanation….


Eagle Feathers and the Path of Good Medicine
Eagle Medicine is the power of the Great Spirit, the connection to the Divine. It is the ability to live in the realm of spirit, and yet remain connected and balanced within the realm of Earth. Eagle soars, and is quick to observe expansiveness within the overall pattern of life. From the heights oh the clouds, Eagle is close to the heavens where the Great Spirit dwells.

Eagle feathers are considered infinitely sacred to traditional Native American people who make use of the feathers for a variety of purposes including ceremonial healing and purification. Eagle Medicine represents a state of presence achieved through diligence, understanding, awareness, and completion of "test of initiation" such as the vision quest or other demanding life experiences. Elder status is associated with Eagle Medicine and the power of connectedness and truth, It is through the wisdom of experience that this Medicine is earned.
The Eagle feather, which represents duality, tells the story of life. It tells of the many duality's that exist in life, such as light and dark, male and female, substance and shadow, summer and winter, peace and war, life and death. It reminds us of the teachings that Opposites are extensions of themselves like two opposing hands of the same body. Native American traditionalists look upon the Eagle feather as a sacred symbol of the balance necessary for the Circle of life to continue. J. T. Garrett, as a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, describes how:
The Eagle feather teaches us about the Rule of Opposites, about everything being divided into two ways. The more one is caught up in the physical, or the West, then the more one has to go in the opposite direction, the East, or the spiritual, to get balance. And it works the other way, too- you can't just focus on the spiritual to the exclusion of the physical. You need harmony in all Four Directions.
The Lesson of Opposites is that of choice. Any two Opposites are often part of the same truth. If we consider the Eagle feather with its light and dark colors, we could argue that "the dark colors are far more beautiful and, therefore, naturally more valuable," or vice versa. Regardless of which colors are said to be more beautiful, or necessary, or valuable, the truth is the bottom line: Both colors come from the same feather, both are true, they are connected, and it takes both to fly.
The balance of which the traditional way speaks is not a recognition of two separate phenomena, nor a decision as to which is best and which is worst. The balance of which the traditional way speaks is worst. The balance of which the traditional way speaks is a recognition of the "oneness" of two differing phenomena, and a decision to honor both through harmony and balance. Traditionally, a person earns the Eagle feather through enormous acts of courage, understanding, or generosity. Very often, it is through such acts that this recognition "oneness" to truth occurs, and it is here that universal learning takes place.

There are two sides of every thing in life. Balancing these things is never an easy task. The Feather is a gift to you for helping me understand that balance. The Darkness needs the Light, and the light cannot exist without the other.