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By
means of the few berries that were not decayed, he had been able to eat
a bit. Yet because of the rain that kept pouring down, which coated the
big plain in a shroud of expecting atmosphere, nothing had come of his
quest thus far. The weather was doglike and even the coyotes were not
visible. Only now and then a mouse or a squirrel appeared, but he had
not succeeded in catching one so far. He would have had to eat it raw,
though, because he wasn't allowed to make fire during the journey. If
there would be fire, it would find him and not the other way around, the
Elders had said.
It
was afternoon, which he could tell because of a spot where the heaven
appeared slightly brighter than everywhere else. In order not to die of
the cold, he decided to run in the direction of the light and see what
was going to happen.
For
hours he jogged, always following the sun. When it became dark he was
branched off in a large curve to the east. He had not seen a living
soul. Even the birds seemed to have disappeared. Only he was there, on
this plain prairie, attired only with his boys name Pride. Nevertheless
he felt a bit warmer. Soon he found the ground went down toward a
shallow valley where a small river sought its way downward, meandering
through small thickets. Here would be enough space for him to build a
shelter for the night.
He
prayed to the Great Spirit and dreamed of roasted buffalo meat and of
Spring Blossom, the attractive daughter of the great Chief. At first
light he awoke shivering and realized that today was the day, because
something had to happen and he certainly would not want to go back to
the tribe empty handed. That would be a disgrace that he did not want to
bestow upon himself.
Again
it started to rain and far away he heard thunder. For a few minutes it
hailed stones, and he could clearly see that the thunderstorm was on its
way to him. Slowly he walked downstream in the rain, sheltering himself
from time to time under a large tree. He walked on because he knew that
if he were to stay in one spot, nothing would come out of his quest.
All
at once he experienced a huge lightning and almost immediately he heard
the thundering noise of the natural forces. It was very close to him and
unexpectedly he saw that a blackberry bush, less than a hundred yards
away, was aflame. Then he saw a shadow that took to it's heels out of
the danger. It was a red fox that chose to run away. Passion and power
were the positive qualities of this appearance, while anger, aggression
and impulsivity were the negative aspects, he knew. Above all, while it
was only one animal, it could be explained (through the spiritual belief
system he was taught), as a sign of originality and leadership.
Above all, while it was only one animal, it could be explained as
originality and leadership. Things like this he had learned from his
father, the Shaman and while he possessed a huge interest in things like
these pieces of wisdom; he was able to, as soon as these things
happened, to remember them.
He
ran after the fox, considering that the fire indeed did arrive despite
the many waters of the rains. Water and Fire. Two extremes, but both of
them indispensable for the well being of his people. Could this fox be
his totem animal, he wondered? Would he in the future be known as
Running Fox? This chance meeting was not enough, he realized. He had to
come up with something better.
Again
a streak of light in the heavens as the lightning struck simultaneously
with the thunder into the tree he was just passing by. He was struck
down and passed out immediately.
"Pride,
Pride, wake up!" Slowly he opened his eyes and looked into the
worried face of Morning Thaw, his mother. He shook his head to rid his
foggy sight and gather his wits. On and on it became a bit clearer. He
saw a circle of faces around him. Prominently there was the tall figure
of Grey Eagle, his father and shaman of the tribe, who stood there
considering the situation with an inscrutable face and crossed arms.
"My
name is not Pride any more, father. I will be called 'Running Fox'
now." Pride heard himself say proudly. "You will have to tell
your story to the Council of Elders, son. Get up." With some effort
and supported by his mother, he was brought to the Grand Standing Stone
where the Council always met.
While
walking he felt his left side burning, and he discovered that that part
of his body was blackened. Furthermore he still felt a bit shaky on his
legs, and the fingers of his left hand were quite tingly. All in all one
could say that he had endured his meeting with the Ghosts of Thunder
remarkably well.
Standing
before the Council of Elders he told the story that was given to him
while unconscious. Following his narration about his dash behind the fox
in the hope that he could find his fate in that way, he told about the
dreams he had dreamt before his mother awakened him.
"The
first thing I saw was a tall young woman, who was clad in an off-white
long dress with light blue flowers. She had a light skin and wore long
waving peculiarly colored yellow like hair with dark eyebrows. The color
of her almond shaped eyes were light blue, like the flowers on her garb.
She radiated love and happiness and peace and although she did not say
anything, I knew that she was happy with this brief meeting.
"A
few moments later the vision disappeared but the powerful joyful and
warm feelings stayed with me for a long time. I was happy and I realized
that the fox had brought me to a place of Love, Joy and Abundance. But
the feelings disappeared gradually and again I felt cold, hungry and
lonely.
"Again an apparition materialized. Now it was a squirrel that
hopped joyfully to me. Right in front of me he buried a few nuts. At
last he looked up to me and said: 'You are never alone. Your Guidance is
so much a part of you that they could never leave you if you wanted them
to. You speak with Spirit regularly. And yet, you quite often look
outside of yourself for the answers. Trust yourself. You are completely
whole within yourself. Think about the running fox that brought you here
and consider that Spirit once asked you to honour the Divine Spark
within yourself and to go on to the fulfilment of that which is really
important for the advancement of your soul.'
"I
was so happy with this statement, but everything seemed a bit puzzling
and I felt light in the head. When all that subsided eventually I still
felt alone and I fiery wished for warmth. I knew that Mother Earth
sheltered me and that the Spirits of the Heavens gave me air, but I new
that my search had not yet come to an end.
"Yet
again an image appeared. This time it was a grey eagle who talked to me
solemnly." (His People worshipped the grey eagle. Not for nothing
had his father, the medicine man, taken on the name of Grey Eagle. The
eagle represented the symbols of the soul that taught the tribe to reach
for a new level of consciousness).
"'Welcome
home, Running Fox,' the eagle said. 'This is a story about peace within
yourself, through which it will become possible to come to peace with
others. During your young life you often have been in discord with
yourself and others. You did not realize that your life has been and
will be a learning process to become equipped for a day like today.
Often you have taken yourself, and others, much too serious and then you
did not realize that life is a game. You also watched the warfare
between your tribe and the 'others'. And you were hoping that when you
would have come of age, to go with them and battle. But you did not
realize that these wars have had their function. It created a chance for
all to learn to listen with their heart and thus attain inner peace and
be able to grow toward Love towards one another. Because Love is the
keyword for all.
"'Because
this is also about Love, Wisdom and Forgiveness. It is about the Bond
between the here and now and about communion with the Great Spirit.
There is a golden pillar of light beaming out of your crown, far away
into the universe, where it can be caught by many souls. The seeds of
courage, power, trust and love that you are conveying can be felt from
great distances in the universe. The running fox has been the herald
that you will be, and be called. In a few moments your mother will find
you and then you will tell your tribe about your meeting with the three
of us, and then it will be time for you to voice your own tale. Within
the tribe first, and later on to others and to the strange white
coloured people that will enter your world very soon.
"'But always remember to keep the peace and the love within your
heart, because you and they are one. And despite the fact that those
others seem to think differently about this, you, Running Fox, will be
capable to propagate this message of peace, sowing seeds everywhere that
will bide their time to germinate. I wish you Good Luck, Running Fox,
and I know that you will be worthy of this task…"'
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