CHAPTER 1
“If you are tired in mind and soul seek out a secluded spot to
enjoy the beauty of nature. Close your eyes and feel the cool
breeze on your face and the warmth of the sun while you allow
Our Spirit Father to regenerate your soul and give you rest.”
Johnny Skyhawk was one tired Indian. Not only was he tired in body but his mind was tired also. He was bone-weary, tail-dragging, mentally fatigued. The job he had been on for the past three years was completed and the boss had just handed out the final checks. He had also brought a number 3 washtub full of ice and Bud light beer. Everyone was hanging around the tub soaking up suds and talking about partying. Johnny took a beer from the tub and walked over to where his truck was parked in the lot. He took off his safety harness and tool belt and put them in the toolbox on the back of the truck bed. He opened the door and climbed in and sat with his eyes closed for a moment. He leaned his head back against the seat and took a long pull on the beer. He sat with his eyes closed and thought back over the three years he had just gone through. He hated to think about how much steel he had tied and how much concrete he had poured. The total would be so many tons that he couldn’t calculate it. They had just finished building a large dam and the job had been dangerous and nerve-wracking. While there had been several accidents, and some that were quite serious, no one had been killed. He was glad the job was done and he could take a few weeks off to rest his mind and body.
Growing up in the backwoods country in Oklahoma he had had lots of time to walk the mountains and woods and be close to nature. While he got along well with people he was just naturally a loner. While the other men on the job had gone to the local beer joint after work Johnny had always driven to the outskirts of town to sit and think while unwinding from the day. He had managed to save every bit of his money from the job for the past three years except the money for his room rent and food. It was not a fortune but it was enough that he would not have to work for a while. The company had another project scheduled in California that would start in another month and they wanted him to go with them. He was a good worker and had the best safety record of anyone in the company. He was good at his job and could help new workers avoid mistakes while being productive and efficient. He had been offered a Forman's position but he didn’t want to have the responsibility of the other workers. He would rather just do his job and leave the interactions with the men to the bosses.
As he sat there with his eyes closed and resting for a few minutes he thought back over his early years to a time he was with his grandfather on the back side of a rugged mountain in an old forest with tall oak trees. The old man had taken him to a particular spot where he pointed out a massive tall old oak with twisted branches.
“My grandson,” the old man had said, “this tree is several hundred years old and it is straight and tall. It found the perfect soil conditions to establish a solid foundation of roots so it could grow strong and live for a long time. This is what you must do, child, establish a solid foundation to grow strong and live for a long time.”
Johnny had asked, “how can I grow roots, Grandfather? I am not a tree. I am a person and I have to have my feet free to move about.”
“Yes Child,” the old man answered, “you are a person but still you must have roots. You must plant your roots in your soul. Your soul is the foundation that your life grows from. Your soul is the real you and it is the only part of you that will endure time. As you look at the old oak tree here notice the many branches and how they twist and turn. You can learn a lot about life if you study this tree and think about what you see. You must look past the surface of what you see in the world around you. You must learn to see the spiritual side of things. The spiritual part is the real part but you must get past the illusion of the outer in order to understand and learn the real meaning of life.”
Johnny had been silent for a minute and had a quizzical look on his face and then he had asked, “what should I see when I look at this tree Grandfather? How can I learn to see the spiritual side of things that you talk about?”
The old man smiled and knew that Johnny wanted to learn what he could teach him. He knew that the child had an inquisitive mind and thought deeply about what he learned when someone told him anything. The child wanted to know the why of everything and this was good. The old man knew that with enough questions the child would seek answers all his life and would gain much wisdom. He needed direction in his life though and the old man knew that he should teach him everything he could while he was here to help him. He knew that if he could get the child to look past the surface of things that he would learn to look at the world in a spiritual way that most people never knew.
“Look at the trunk of the tree,” he said, “see how it grows straight and tall until it reaches the sky. That is how a man’s life should be child, a path that grows straight and tall and reaches the heavens. Yet if you will notice there are many branches on this tree. Some of them are large and twist this way and that. A man’s life has many choices and each choice will take him off the main path and will be a side path with many twists and turns. Also you will see many little branches and stems off the larger branches. These are like the little detours from the many paths a man may walk. Life is full of choices and temptations and one may wander far in his travels and see many things and experience many tribulations as well as pleasures. The leaves on the little stems are like the people one may meet in life. Each one is different in texture and color and size and yet at the same time they are the same. Look even closer now and see the branches that have died and are breaking off from the tree. These are like some of the side paths a man may travel that lead to a dead end and serve no function, but rather they just tend to waste one’s time. You must be careful, my child, to always think about your direction in life and be aware of your true path. You must not allow yourself to be distracted by the many side paths that lead to nothing and that will waste your time. You will have only a short time on this earth in comparison to eternity and you should spend your time wisely.”
Johnny had a perplexed look on his face and asked, “but Grandfather, how will I know if a certain path or choice will be good or not? How will I know my true path, and just what is my true path?”
“My child,” the old man said, “every man’s path is different but yet we are all searching for the same goal. We are here to learn and experience and to gain wisdom from that experience. Our goal is to eventually stand on Paradise with the Spirit Father who created all things and everyone. It is our main duty to ourselves to try and gain as much spirituality in this lifetime as we are able. I am telling you these things so that you may be aware of your true path in life, and that is to gain spirituality and grow closer with Your Spirit Father. All other things are secondary to this main goal and all other paths are secondary to your main path. Our choices in life sometimes lead us off our main path but we should always be aware of our true path and not allow the small detours to take much of our time. And now I will tell you that you must develop a set of values so that you will live your life with your values to guide you. If you have a high set of values then life’s choices will be much easier to make. You must choose your values and incorporate them into your mind and be true to your self by living by those values.”
“But Grandfather,” Johnny asked, “what values should I choose? What sort of values can I choose and how will I know if they are good for me?”
The old man only smiled because he knew that the boy had no more idea than a haint what he meant by values. The boy was only ten years old and had not been exposed to much formal education so he was not familiar with some words, but he was exceptionally smart and a fast learner. Having spent much time with his Grandfather he had quite a store of knowledge of nature and the skills of surviving in the wilderness. The boy may have been somewhat illiterate but he was extremely intelligent.
“Grandson,” the old man said, “the values you should choose are those things that are good and will give you pleasure in your soul. Some of the values you should choose are truthfulness, faithfulness, loyalty, honorable actions, selflessness, altruism, and compassion for those in need. Your values are the same as your ethics. The ethics you live by shows the world what the nature of your character is like and what is in your soul. If you adopt impeccable ethics you can always stand proud and tall like this old oak tree.”
It was nice to think back about his childhood and the wisdom of his grandfather but now Johnny opened his eyes and sat up straight behind the steering wheel of his pickup and started the motor. He decided that he would go to the motel where he had been renting a room by the week and check out. He finished his beer in one long swallow and threw the bottle into the back of the truck and drove off. It was about five miles to the motel and Johnny was not in any particular hurry. He had always felt that people in general were in too much of a hurry. One missed so much of life when they hurry. He had been taught by his Grandfather to take the time to enjoy the beauty of his surroundings as he went about his daily life. He now looked for the last time on the countryside he was driving through and picked out the things that he wanted to remember about it. While he was not in a hurry and consequently he was only driving about forty miles an hour, the man in a large van behind him was visibly perturbed by having to go so slow. The road was narrow with a lot of curves and not many places to pass someone else safely. The man finally laid down on his horn with a long drawn out blast while angrily motioning for Johnny to pull over or to speed up. Johnny decided that he didn’t want to speed up and he didn’t see any need to piss the man off by staying in his way so he pulled off the road at the next place that was wide enough for him to get off the road. The man was not satisfied that Johnny had gotten out of his way and when he passed he flipped him the bird and hollered “dumb ass”! Johnny just sat there for a short time slowly shaking his head. He started thinking about people and the things his grandfather had taught him about how to look at people. The day was pleasant and he was relieved to be off the job so he was determined that he would let nothing spoil his good mood. He knew that some people were just ignorant and that he could do nothing to change them so he didn’t usually allow their actions to bother him. Johnny knew his own mind pretty well and he had exceptional control of his emotions so it was a rare occasion that anything could disturb his peace of mind. This was pretty country he was driving through although some people would think it was pretty barren and rough. He liked rough and rugged country and this scenery suited his sense of taste for pretty colors and a rugged look. He well knew that beauty was in the eye of the beholder yet this was beautiful country to him. As he sat there taking in the sights of the beautiful countryside before pulling back onto the road Johnny started thinking back to a time when he had just gone to live with his grandfather. They had gone to the woods one day to gather blackberries so they could make some jelly and it was the time of year that everything was lush and green. There was a lot of color in the meadows with flowers blooming and the whole mountainsides aglow with color. Johnny had remarked how beautiful everything was and his grandfather stopped and sat down on a large flat rock at the foot of the mountain by the edge of the woods. The old man had said, “my boy, it is good that you can see the beauty in nature and have appreciation for the majesty that the Great Spirit has spread like a blanket over the meadows in the valley and in the woods on the mountain. Yet I would have you learn two other aspects of beauty and they are truth and goodness. You see child, there can not be beauty in anything false or a lie. There can not be beauty in hateful actions. You can only find beauty where you find truth and goodness. Beauty is presented on the outside as a reflection of what is in the inner. Without truth and goodness on the inner there can be no beauty on the outer. You will see many things in your lifetime that men would call beautiful yet you must not be deceived by the false beauty of worldly things that amuse the masses. If you would hope to become an impeccable warrior you must learn to look past the physical and material things of the outside and look into the core of the matter seeking the spiritual aspects of anything to see the real beauty that it may contain.” Johnny was somewhat confused by what his grandfather had said about becoming an impeccable warrior and asked, “what is an impeccable warrior and how do I become one? Do you think I should be an impeccable warrior?”
The old man could only shake his head and smile. He knew that he had so very much to teach the boy and he only had a few short years in which to do it. Looking at the child he saw that the boy was not dumb but was just confused as to the meaning of what he had said. So he said, “an impeccable warrior is one that walks a path of truth, beauty, and goodness. An impeccable warrior lives his life by a set of impeccable ethics and values and would rather die than betray his honor. An impeccable warrior lives his life perfecting his spiritual nature until he can have conscious communication with the Great Spirit. When that moment occurs he will become a perfected human and truly an impeccable warrior. Therefore my son, fill your mind, heart, and soul with the love the Great Spirit is sending you and keeping your heart focused on that love let him lead you ever onto the path of truth, beauty, and goodness.”
Johnny didn’t say anything but had a thoughtful look on his face. The old man had looked at him for a few moments and saw that he was thinking about what he had just told him. Finally the old man arose from where he was sitting and they continued walking toward where the berry bushes were located. It took quite some time for Johnny to fully understand what his grandfather had told him. His lessons continued for a number of years right up to the time of his grandfathers death.
He sat there thinking for a while and then with a sigh he pulled back onto the road and continued on towards the motel. He continued to drive slowly and enjoyed the view as well as the fresh air and the pleasant weather.
When he pulled up to the motel he noticed the van that belonged to the belligerent man parked at the convenience store across the road. It was a large utility van that looked as if it had been converted into a camping vehicle. Johnny went into his room and quickly packed all his things in a duffle bag and after taking a last look around loaded the bag into his truck. He then went to the motel office to tell the old lady that ran the place that he was leaving. He had not socialized much while he lived here although he would always say hello when he saw the lady about the place. She was a quiet sort herself, never saying much, and stayed in the office most of the time.
“I’m sorry to see you go,” she said. “You have been a good tenant and never caused me any worry. I wish all my tenants were as quiet as you. If you ever come back this way you will be welcome.”
“I have enjoyed my stay here,” Johnny said. “But the job is over and it is time for me to move on down the road. There are lots to see and a lot of things to do while I am still young enough to enjoy them. If I ever do come back this way again you can be sure that I will stop by.”
He started to get in his truck but changed his mind. He was going to go to the convenience store for a few items and since it was only across the road he couldn’t see any sense in driving. He wanted to stock up on jerky, nuts, dried fruit, and a few more items that he could carry and eat on the trail without stopping to cook. He also planned to get a few canned goods and other things he could heat up and eat without a lot of trouble. He planned to go to the mountain country around Sedona Arizona and spend a few weeks camping and hiking up and down Oak Creek Canyon. He was tired in mind and body and he knew that the energy level around the mountains there was exceptionally high. It was a spiritual place if a person was looking to get in tune with nature and commune with the Great Spirit. It was only about a three-hour drive from where he was and he was already beginning to unwind and relax with the anticipation of the adventure.
Johnny crossed the road and opened the door to the convenience store but hearing an angry voice he hesitated a moment before he went inside. He looked to where the commotion was coming from and he saw that it was the bellicose man that was driving the
van that was parked in front of the store. He was talking to the beautiful young Apache Indian girl that worked there as a clerk.
“What the hell kind of store is this anyway,” the man was yelling. “I never heard of anyone not taking an American Express Card. Hell fire woman I have enough credit on that card to buy this whole damn store.”
“I’m sorry sir,” the young lady said. “I can’t take American Express but I can take Visa if you have one. American Express charges us too much on each transaction so the storeowner doesn’t take it.”
“I don’t want to use my Visa for this piddling amount and if you won’t take my American Express Card then I will just not buy anything,” the man said. “Hell lady, your prices are too damn high here anyway. There is a discount super store down the road and I know they will be glad to take an American Express Card. Their prices are a lot cheaper than yours are anyway.”
The man raved on for a little bit and then turned as if to leave and saw Johnny standing in the doorway. “What the hell are you gawking at dumb-ass,” he asked? Just get out of the way cause I am going out.”
Ordinarily Johnny would have just stepped aside and ignored the man but he didn’t particularly like the way the man had been talking to the young girl behind the counter. He never did like to see a bully push people around and this man was surely old enough to know how to act around decent folk. Johnny decided that this man needed to learn something now that he should have learned as a child.
“You know something mister,” Johnny asked? “That is twice now today that you have called me a dumb-ass, which is not such a bright thing to do, so I would think that the appellation would be better applied to yourself than to me. Also I couldn’t help but notice how you were talking to this young lady and it seems a shame that you would try to run roughshod over her that way. I know that your mother probably raised you to be more considerate than that and I know she would be pleased if you would apologize to this young lady for being so confrontational and insulting.”
“Oh, I see,” the man said. “You are not only a dumb-ass but you are a smart-ass too. Let me show you how I deal with a smart-ass.”
As he said this the man took a wild swing at Johnny’s face with a ham-sized fist. All this did was prove that Johnny had been right in saying that the appellation of dumb-ass indeed was applicable to this bellicose and offensive fellow. Johnny was not a large man, being only five feet ten inches tall and weighing one hundred and eighty pounds. Not having an ounce of fat on his frame he didn’t appear to weigh even that much. Yet each pound of flesh that hung on his body was solid muscle and he was at least twice as strong as the average man.
Being quick of eye and having super-quick reflexes Johnny simply caught the man’s fist in his hand and then he started squeezing. The man’s eyes suddenly opened wide and a look of stunned surprise covered his face. The surprised look didn’t last long before it was replaced with an expression of concern and pain. Johnny kept squeezing and bent the man’s wrist backward and down until the man dropped to his knees and shrieked out in anguish. School was in session and the man was ready to pay attention to the teacher.
“It must certainly be frustrating,” Johnny said, “to think of yourself as self-important and super intelligent and then to discover that you are extremely stupid. I don’t know how old you are but it is amazing that someone has not taught you to be more polite before this. It is not a very wise thing to do to call someone you don’t know a dumb-ass. It is even more stupid to berate a nice young lady for only doing her job. The humble
position you find yourself to be in at the present time can be conducive to gaining wisdom or at least to learn to be more discrete in your actions. You should practice kneeling more often and talk to the Great Spirit about helping you to become a better person. I’m sure if you ask him he will help you to become more altruistic and compassionate as well as becoming more humble and considerate in character. Now I think it would be nice if you would apologize to the young lady here for being such a bore and acting so belligerent.”
The man cried out, “anything you say, just don’t hurt me any more. Please let up the pressure on my hand -- it feels like you have broken it.”
“Oh it’s not broken yet,” Johnny said, “but if I don’t hear you apologize to the girl here in the next few seconds it will be.”
“OK, I apologize. I’m sorry miss,” the fellow said. “Now if you will just let me go mister, I will leave and not bother anyone here again.”
Johnny let up the pressure on the man’s hand and turned him loose. The man just stayed on the floor for a few seconds and held his hand while rubbing it. Finally he climbed to his feet and stumbled out the door. As he opened the door to his van he turned and gave a long hard look back at the store and then climbed into the cab and slammed the door. He was muttering to himself, that this was not over by a long shot, as he drove off.
“I hope you are all right miss,” Johnny said. “I’m afraid there are a lot of obnoxious people in the world and every once in a while they bother decent folk if they think they can get by with it.”
“Thank you for helping me,” the girl said. “I was starting to think the man was going to strike me. Nothing I said to him seemed to help and he just kept raving on more strongly. I know that our prices here are higher than other stores but we don’t buy in the volume that they do so we pay more on the wholesale price than other stores. Also we don’t carry a very large selection of items. We specialize in those items that people will buy here when the other stores are closed and they have to have them. The reason this store is called a convenience store is because we are open earlier and close later than regular stores and it is convenient for people to shop here rather than wait for the regular stores to open. It has really hurt our business since that national chain opened the large super store up the road. It has cut our business in half because their prices are a lot cheaper than ours are and they are open twenty-four hours a day. The reason that main street looks like a ghost town with all the store windows boarded up is because the discount store put them out of business with cheap prices.”
Johnny said, “discount stores started as a way of giving people cheaper prices on the same goods they were buying elsewhere. The problem is though that soon people started expecting something for nothing. Quality and cheap are two different things. When more and more discount stores started up the regular specialty stores had to lower prices to compete. But what has happened is that in order to lower prices the manufactures had to cheapen quality. Now most items you can buy at a discount store is the cheapest trash the manufacturers can produce. When there were only regular stores in rural America they were owned and ran by families that had been in business for several generations. They tried to give their customers the best quality products they could find and they would stand behind the products they sold. The reason for this was they were selling to friends and neighbors and wanted to help them. The storeowners demanded top quality merchandise and the wholesalers demanded top quality products from the manufacturers. But people forget their friend that has a store and treats them right when national chains opens a store and starts selling things retail for less than a regular store can buy it for wholesale. Of course the discount corporation buys things by the trainload for thousands of stores. They don’t care even a little bit how poor the quality is as long as it is dirt-cheap. Once they have put all the other stores in town out of business they raise their prices back higher than the other stores were selling similar items for. The really bad thing is the other stores were trying to sell a quality product and discount stores are selling a piece of crap that is now costing the poor dumb customer more than a good quality product should cost. In the mean time all the families that owned stores are out of a job so they either go to work for the discount store at minimum wage or else they move to a city. The town then becomes a ghost town. Major chain discount stores have done more to ruin the economy in America than any other single thing. The reason they have such a big smile on their face is that they have all the business in town and they are padding a large bank account. People are stupid for buying stuff from them but the people in this country have been growing more stupid since they have lost pride in quality goods and service. There doesn‘t seem to be any family values any more, nor self discipline since both the father and mother work and the children have to learn their values on the street.”
“I think you are right Sir,” the girl replied. “At least that is how it has been in this town. A lot of people have moved away and the ones that are still here are driving quite a distance to their jobs. Most of the people that owned businesses here have gone bankrupt and some have even lost their homes. I don’t know how much longer the owner can keep this store open because he is not making any money. In fact I don’t know if he is doing anything except just breaking even.”
“By the way,” Johnny said, “my name is Johnny SkyHawk. I don’t think that man will be back to bother you anymore but keep an eye out for him anyway. Those kinds of people are on the very edge mentally and it doesn’t seem to take much to push them over. I have never understood the bully mentality but there is a lot of it, especially in large cities. It must have something to do with the indifference and selfishness that cities generate in people. When everyone is in such a rush and never have the time to relax and reflect on life I guess they just tend to feel bad and start to place the blame outside themselves. I have been feeling pretty tense myself lately and I am going to go to the mountain country and enjoy a little solitude to rest and relax.”
“My name is Lena SweetWater,” the girl said. “I am certainly grateful that you were here and I hope you have a nice time in the mountains. If you come back this way again you will always be welcome in this store. All the times you have come in here you have always been a gentleman and you seem to be a good person. The world could use more people like you. It seems as if more and more obnoxious people stop in here since the town has started falling apart. I sometimes think I should move away myself but I don’t know where I could move to that would be much better.”
Johnny didn’t say anything but instead just shook his head and smiled. Then he proceeded to pick out the items he had come into the store after. It did seem to him that the girl was right and that there did seem to be more obnoxious people than at any time in the past he could remember. His Grandfather had told him that when people are concentrated in one place and conditions became crowded that they tended to become more irritable and indifferent to the suffering of those around them. Johnny could understand that because he knew that when people are trying to earn enough money to feed their family, and it took both the mother and father working to just exist, they didn’t have time for anything else. In most large cities a lot of next door neighbors didn’t even know the people next door. The way the Government was being operated didn’t help matters any. The Government was originally set up of the people, by the people, and for the people. But now it seemed as if the Government was being run by political parties that had their own agenda and didn’t care what the people wanted or needed. The Government had become a parasite bleeding the people for more and more taxes while growing like a cancer on society. They kept finding ways to raise taxes without it appearing that they were doing it. A good example was how they were doing the tobacco industry. First the Government subsidized tobacco farmers to the tune of several billions of dollars a year, which tax payers paid. Next they started a strong campaign to make the general public not like smoking. The campaign was subtle in that it was a gradual thing to where smokers were being treated like second class citizens so they could be discriminated against without anyone thinking anything about it. When there was a strong enough sentiment against smoking to where no one would object the Government sued the tobacco industry. When the tobacco industry lost all the lawsuits they had to raise the price of their product to cover the loss of revenue from the lawsuits. The Governments purported reason for the lawsuits was to recover the cost of medical expenses that smoking caused. This was a smoke screen and people believed it. Johnny had not seen any evidence that even one penny went for anyone’s medical expenses. All that he could see that happened was that with the tobacco prices being three times higher than they were was that the government was now collecting three times the amount of taxes. Actually, when put in to the proper perspective, the Government is in fact an active partner in growing tobacco and selling it too. The only ones who suffered from all the propaganda and burden of the whole mess was the poor suckers that were addicted to the tobacco products. So long as the Government subsidized tobacco farmers and allowed tobacco to be a legal product there would be more and more young people becoming addicted to it. Johnny couldn’t understand why the Government didn’t encourage the tobacco farmers to raise other crops instead of tobacco. If they were going to subsidize them anyway, why not subsidize them to grow herbs or vegetables or some other crop that would be profitable and healthy for people to consume? Johnny paid for his grocery items and loaded them into the truck. He was still pondering the ways of the Government and the indifference of the people as he drove away.
VARIATION ON A THEME
Further Grandfather Teachings
As Johnny drove along the highway and the scenery changed to more vegetation and especially some pine trees he started thinking again how beautiful the country was becoming. These thoughts soon led to his thinking about how people were as different in their thinking as the country was different in it’s landscape. He was reminded of going with his grandfather to the first Pow-Wow he attended. He had been small for his age and therefore he was somewhat shy from being self-conscious about his size. This was not an entirely bad thing because it gave him a chance to stay in the background and study other people. He was fascinated by the things people did and how they acted toward and interacted with other people. Being of an exceptional intelligence he gained a lot of knowledge about people. Being a boy of an extremely honest nature he could see people’s faults and understand them without judging them.
When they arrived at the Pow-Wow they found the people had parked their cars in a large field and had set up booths and tables to showcase their crafts. There were also booths that offered different assortments of food and drinks. There were a lot of people there and Johnny stayed close by his grandfather’s side as he was intimidated by the noise and all the people. The youngster was not a coward in any sense of the word and in fact was quite a courageous young man. Yet this was the first time that he had been around this many people and with the excitement that was being displayed he was somewhat nonplussed by it all.
As the afternoon progressed Johnny began to feel more comfortable with the situation and started to enjoy all the excitement around him. As it became late evening some of the elders of the tribe approached Johnny’s grandfather and asked him to come and speak to the people. Johnny knew that his grandfather was a medicine man and a spiritual leader to the people but he didn’t realize just how important the old man was to everyone. The old man agreed to sit in council with the people and they went over to the campfire that had been build out in the field. They motioned for the old man to take the seat of honor next to the chief and of course Johnny sat next to him. After they were seated the Chief asked if anyone wanted to ask the old man anything and of course several people raised their hands.
The first to ask him a question was a young girl that would soon become married. She asked what he thought the duties of a good wife should be?
He answered saying, "the first thing is to never think of a relationship with someone you love as a duty. Duty implies bondage, and even voluntary subjugation of one mortal's will to another is still a form of slavery. When two people decide to be married, they are embarking on life's journey as two individuals who will become as one. Each as important as the other, each with their own part to compliment the other to make a whole. To be a good wife takes the same criteria that it does to be a good husband. Each day, you must make a new commitment in your heart to be considerate, compassionate, thoughtful, generous, understanding, and forgiving, but most of all you must be loving. Love is the most powerful creative force in the universe. There is no obstacle that can't be overcome by love. Love is like a rainstorm--any in its path shall get wet. Love is like a rain in the desert, it gives life. So if you would be a good wife, continually shower him with love."
Then a man asked, "tell us about anger."
Johnny’s grandfather replied, "anger is a terrible emotion. Anger robs you of reason, which in turn may cause you to act in foolish ways, which are almost always destructive. Anger is a direct result of lack of understanding. To have understanding you must be honest and objective in your observation of events in your life. Anger denotes lack of maturity, and to a certain extent, a lack of higher values. To overcome anger in your life, you must develop patience, understanding, compassion, mercy, and a forgiving nature. These values are the result of filling your mind and heart with love. When you can feel the love the Great Spirit pours out to you, then you must channel this love throughout your being, and direct this great love to all you encounter. Negative emotions are like a disease that would ravage your body. Positive emotions are like the soothing touch of a healing lotion. Therefore, examine your emotions and re-channel them into positive emotions, for our body is only as healthy as our mind. Our mind has power, and if we will use our mind to direct and control our emotions instead of allowing our emotions to control our mind, we will soon see a beautiful change in our lives and the conditions in which we find ourselves. As our mind will attract and draw to us, that which we hold in mind and dwell upon, what better thought to constantly have to dwell upon and envision, than the thought of the Great Spirit.” Next an older woman asked how you can help someone gain maturity.
After thinking for a few moments the old man replied, "when we care for someone and are concerned with their welfare, we sometimes forget they have free will and choice. Until they will decide they want your help and concern, and truly want to use your advice and help to strengthen their desire to help themselves, there is nothing you can do to help them. To continually give your energy and help to someone that doesn't use that help as encouragement to help themselves--then you are harming that person as well as yourself. Maturity is a growing process, which comes from wisdom, gained through the knowledge gained from experience. Know also that you cannot bestow maturity and wisdom upon anyone. You may advise and counsel, and share your intellectual knowledge, yet until a person will experience something for themselves they may not relate to what you say. Though it would sometimes cause you to feel sad and have a heavy heart to watch someone you love going through the painful experience of learning to live, face life, and overcome their hardships as lessons to gain maturity, know that each must walk their own path, no one can walk it for them. Know that the only way they will grow and attain will be to experience what they must, and that eventually they will attain. And if we experience sadness over the ones we love, think for a moment of all the ones the Great Spirit must feel sadness with. Yet if we could see the total picture as the Great Spirit can see, then we would know the perfection that exists in all conditions, and the ultimate benefits that will result. Also, you must realize that our main purpose while we are here is to gain knowledge and wisdom through our experience. And so, if knowledge through experience is important, than hindsight is better than foresight. Through hindsight we review our experience and gain wisdom, but with foresight, we might tend to abort the experience and thereby fail to learn." Then a young man asked, "Why are some lucky and some unlucky?"
Johnny’s grandfather said, "my young friend, things may not always be as they seem. You see, conditions do not make the man, nor are they thrust upon him by chance. It is but the reaping of the crop from the seeds of thought he has planted in his mind--man creates his own conditions. Circumstances in which you find yourself are but a reflection of the purity, or impurity of your thoughts. Our mind is the soil, our thoughts seed, and our emotions, the force to grow our crops. Therefore it behooves us all to guard our mind against negative thoughts. Also, we must keep close rein on our emotions and become pure minded. As our conditions are a reflection of our true thoughts and actions, we realize that wishing and hoping will never accomplish anything. We must instead change our inner nature to reflect our outer conditions in the manner in which we would approve. When you are dissatisfied with your lot in life, then look in your heart and see what has caused the problem. Know you not, that what you have caused, you may change? And if you think your thoughts are pure and you still find yourself in negative conditions, go within and search your soul, for inside there still exists impurity. As an apple seed can only grow apples, the same with seeds of purity. Know that purity is as purity does. Know also that secret thoughts are not secret, for you will soon see the results manifest, as a beautiful tree with a rotten core will soon wither and die. Your inner thoughts will cause you to act in certain ways, which in turn will cause certain circumstances. For with every action there is an equal and just reaction. People have deductive and inductive reasoning, so if things are going bad for you, simply review the situation in your mind, being honest and objective in your evaluation. Then make those changes necessary to keep from making the same mistakes while improving your life and the conditions in which you find yourself. Always remember, curse not the mud in which you stand, for was it not your own blindness that let you step into the puddle?” The Chief then said, "talk to us of sharing and charity."
The old man answered saying, "look to no man for substance, for all substance comes from the Great Spirit. Look to the Great Spirit and you will always have that which is sufficient for your needs. And if you help your brother, give willingly from your heart, for to grudgingly give your assistance will build hate, and hate builds negativity in your soul. Put your faith in no man, for man is mortal. It is better to put your faith in the Father Spirit, who dwells within, and your faith will be rewarded abundantly--you will never know disappointment. Always remember, in living your lives by helping all your brothers, you are living the life that your Spirit Father, the Great Spirit of all, would choose. If we fail to help our fellows when they lack payment, where will we turn when we find ourselves in that condition? Share all that you have, for through your sharing you will be shared with, and through giving you will receive. Waste not that which is given you, and with right usage it will multiply. Eat that part of your food today that you need for proper health, and share the rest with others that hunger, for what the Great Spirit has given you today, will he not give to you tomorrow? And if a man demands your time, give it freely. If he demands your material possessions, give all with love. And if he demands your life, fear not. But if he demands your worship, then close your mind to him. For your worship belongs to the Great Spirit, and put no man before your Spirit Father.” Next a young widow asked, "please speak to us of suffering."
The old man smiled sadly and said, "pain and suffering is a part of life simply because we are physical beings in a physical environment. Mental anguish is a part of life because we are thinking beings with emotions. It is these things that make us human. It is our reactions to these things that help us to build character. Always remember, there can be no burden so heavy, no hurt so much, no eyes so sad, no grief so binding, that the morning sun can't bring joy and gladness that you are starting a bright new day with hope. And should your problems be so much more than you can bear, seek out a quiet spot and ask the Great Spirit, your Spirit Father, to come into your heart and lift the burden from your shoulders. And know also that you are truly a child of the Great Spirit, and will not the parent always provide for the child? Remember also, that in times of suffering it is not well to isolate oneself. Remain active, stay busy, and seek out friends who may help to change the perspective with which you view the situation. With the passing of time, pain will dull and the heart will grow lighter, for the Great Spirit has designed his creations with seasons for all things. And when our seasons for joy is in full blossom, then the season for sadness will be forgotten. The same as when the springtime has arrived and the weather is pleasant; the long winter is forgotten."
Then the old man said, "there is more I would tell you on sharing and charity. When the accidents occur in life's struggle that causes blindness or physical disability, never forget that man has dignity and self-respect. Each person would like to know that he is useful and that he is earning a livelihood for himself. Help the lame and blind to keep their self-respect and dignity. Find work for them that they can do. Never forget that our Spirit Father loves each of His children, and each person is a child of the Great Spirit. So let us always help each of our brothers maintain the respect and dignity as a child of our Spirit Father. It is no act of charity to reduce a brother or sister to the status of a beggar. True charity is helping them to earn a livelihood and be a useful and productive member of your society. There is always a useful and needful task to be done, and any person with dignity would be more than willing to do productive work to earn their livelihood rather than have to lose their self-respect by begging.” Johnny and his grandfather stayed late into the night and when it was time to go home the boy was fast asleep and his grandfather carried him to the pickup and drove home. Johnny was so tired from the day’s activities he didn’t wake up until nearly noon the next day. He long thought about the things his grandfather had told the people.
