Ladder to the Light Quotes

“Celebrating what we hope for together is better than fighting over what we believe separately.”
― Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage

“Made for freedom. We are not made for resignation. Passive acceptance is not the code written into our spirit. If that were true, as a species, we would have vanished long ago. Instead, for millennia, we have shaken off the temptation to simply accept reality and the demand that we bend the”
― Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage

“In the darkness, in the valley of shadow, we can feel isolated and afraid. But once we have the light of hope, we begin to see just how many people share in our struggle. The first step toward community is recognizing our common humanity. Instead of seeing strangers in the dark, we recognize fellow climbers in the light.”
― Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage

“In the spiritual life, we all have a job description to fulfill. In two of the messages I received, this is seen in the image of a spiritual medic or a spiritual construction worker. These are different images, but they carry similar messages: We are here for a reason. Our lives are entrusted to us for a purpose. It is not always an easy or glamorous job, but it is the vital work of restoration, reconciliation, and renewal that must be done, and done on the run in the face of rapid changes.”
― Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage

“knee, and we have stood up to struggle against the odds, to change the situation, and to find an answer and a healing. Those deep drives are the energy we call hope. Those active forces are what determine our future. We are not made for resignation, but for freedom.”
― Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage

“Love is the inheritance of mystery that we leave to the universe—the proof that consciousness is more than chemicals and fire, but rather a song that sings the why and how of all creation. Love sings it now and will sing it until the end of time.”
― Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage

“remember our common condition. It calls us to act in ways that defy the fear of difference. We learn to be strangers when we close the door on our humanity.”
― Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage

“Today, from Native America’s vantage point, tolerance of lies is the source of our dilemma. Once a culture allows truth to become relative or even meaningless, then that culture is in trouble. This is especially apparent in our political, judicial, and educational systems. Politics becomes the art of skillful lying. Education becomes the practice of telling ourselves what we want to hear. Justice becomes an exercise in power and privilege, not truth. The choice between truth and lies affects all social systems on which we depend, but it is most apparent in the political sphere. If people cannot believe their leaders are telling them the truth, then the whole structure of governance collapses. Our anxiety, our fear of darkness, begins when we start to doubt what we see and hear. The Native American insistence on truth as a nonnegotiable for all social interactions is not a stereotype of the noble savage, perpetuated by Western colonialism. The Native American insistence on truth is a warning flag from a civilization that witnessed firsthand the cost of lies.”
― Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage

“The darkness foments racism and bigotry to prevent this simple act of recognition.”
― Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage

“You and I have a contract with the Spirit. We have a working relationship. Our purpose in creation is not just to sit and look pretty, but to stand and go to work. Life is unfinished. Hope is not yet realized.”
― Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage

“We are here for a reason. Our lives are entrusted to us for a purpose. It is not always an easy or glamorous job, but it is the vital work of restoration, reconciliation, and renewal that must be done, and done on the run in the face of rapid changes.”
― Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage

“great deal of our activism in the Spirit is accomplished in simple ways. We are not asked to be heroic. Most often, it is enough that we remain consistent in living out our faith in small ways.”
― Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage