Paint With All The Colors of the Wind

I have been listening to the soundtrack of Disney's Pocahontas; okay I have been listening obsessively for the last few days. But it has really gotten me thinking... As I listened to Pocahontas' signature song "Paint With All The Colors of the Wind" I began to really take in and memorize the lyrics, realizing how much they were correct. In case you haven't heard it in a while or don't know the lyrics, I will post them and mean no copyright infringement by this.

 You think I'm an ignorant savage
And you've been so many places
I guess it must be so
But still I cannot see
If the savage one is me
How can there be so much that you don't know?
You don't know ...

You think you own whatever land you land on
The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name

You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sun-sweet berries of the Earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once, never wonder what they're worth

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers
The heron and the otter are my friends
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends

How high will the sycamore grow?
If you cut it down, then you'll never know
And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon

For whether we are white or copper skinned
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind

You can own the Earth and still
All you'll own is Earth until
You can paint with all the colors of the wind

They are very beautiful and enlightening, and I can't help but notice how alike these words are to what God teaches us. He told us in Genesis to be proper stewards of the earth and care for it. He taught us to live with each other in peace and unison under him. He taught us to love all despite color of skin, beliefs, or their sins. As Pocahontas talks about John Smith's "savage behavior" she states "you think the only people who are people, are the ones who look and think like you. But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you will learn things you never knew you never knew". 

I feel like society, myself included, can often cast judgement from our standpoint. Many times I have looked at a homeless person and just seen them as a hopeless person that was on drugs or addicted to alcohol or some other thing like that. However if we walk in their footsteps, we will often see that they may be addicted to alcohol because they lost someone they loved and didn't know how to handle it and so became an alcoholic. Maybe they weren't a worthless worker, maybe they worked hard in life and they still got laid off because of budget problems at their work.

She also says "We are all connected to each other in a circle, in a hoop that never ends". Sometimes it is hard to realize that all humans are connected and are part of one world of humans under the influence of God, though we live as if we are divided. Which in many ways we are, like religion and politics. But God teaches us to love and share with each other and to be kind to all. After listening to this song and realizing that I have been told to do this by Jesus, I am going to try and do everything I can to be a good steward, to be kind to everyone I meet. I am going to share the riches of the earth with everyone who wants them. 

Painting with all the colors of the wind can be hard, but if we do all the things listed above and keep to them, we will be doing just that! Painting with all the colors means to not leave anything out, don't exclude and turn some away while accepting others we are more comfortable with. If we love all, embrace all, are kind to all, and share with all, we will paint with all the colors of the wind.