[Critique Group 1] Fwd: Leonard's belated comments re: DeAnna's work

[tuchyner5 at aol.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: tuchyner5 at aol.com
To: group1 at bluegraspals.com <group1 at bluegraspals.com>
Sent: Thu, Apr 15, 2021 9:10 am
Subject: Leonard's belated comments re: DeAnna's work


This is a wisdom tale.  
 
Follow your heart and find your nature. 
 
That is the onlyh way  to find peace, 
 
flfilment and satisfaction in life.e  
 
The saga is idealized. 
 
There are dogs that have not found contentmentwith man 
 
and would rather be wild than domesticated.  
 
We are all of many different natures, 
 
and these natures may be at war with each other.
 
Reconciling these many natures is a dauntingtask.  
 
The story can be seen as these different natures
 
trying to find an accommodation. 
 
But we know that it is very difficult, 
 
and there may be different solutions fordifferent times of life.
 
  
 
DeAnnas submission  for March 
 
  
 
1,124 words
 
Breaking Trail
 
By DeAnna Quietwater Noriega
 
 
 
At the edge of a clearing within the deepforest, Grandmother Spider watched as a young wolf came upon a largepanther.  The great cat was up wind of him and the two were both scentingthe breeze seeking the same rabbit.  The wolf feared for his life. The panther was probably faster and armed with vicious claws as well as sharpteeth.  As the wolf backed away in fear from the great cat, one who waslike a wolf and yet not sprang out from behind a tree.  This creature gaveseveral loud yips and growled in the manner of wolves.  The hackles andfur along his back stood up making him appear much larger and fiercer than heactually was.  The panther turned and slipped away.  Two wolflikecreatures were more than he wanted to encounter.  The young wolf notedthat this creature had many strange scents on his coat.  Some of them wereeven frightening like fire smoke. The wolf was glad of the help dealing withthe panther, but he was also puzzled.
 
                 
 
               "What are you?" he asked.
 
               "I am called dog," answered the stranger.  "My people andyours were once of the same clan but yours chose to wander the wild hills andmine made compact with the creature they call mankind."
 
               "Why did your people do that?" asked young wolf.  "Whywould you choose to join a pack of men?" 
 
               "Men are very clever, they can't hear, smell or hunt quite so well as doour peoples.  Still their front paws can do many things ours cannot. They manage to stay warm in the coldest winter.  They store food like thesquirrels.  They know how to kill their prey from a distance so they neednot bear the marks of its teeth hooves or claws on their weak bodies. They can fashion things from what they have at hand like the very stones of theearth.  They use the things they make like claws and teeth that arestronger than those the Great Spirit has granted us.  This ability to makewhat they need is a greater gift than the maker of all has given to any othercreature.  If you join their tribe, they share food," answered Dog.
 
               "A wolf pack hunts together and shares the kill according to their worthin the hunt. They share the warmth of their bodies." said the wolf. “Men are even more different from you than you are from a wolf.  Howstrange it must be to live among creatures not of your own kind.  Althoughwolves share the land with other animals, they are not part of our clan. Some are food and some would kill and eat us if we did not avoid them. A warmden and plenty of food are good things.  Surely they are not worth thedanger of living among such fearsome creatures as mankind," said the wolf.
 
                 The greatest gift they have is love.  Their clever paws knowthe right places to scratch or pat.  To live with them is to become partof their pack. They do more than share their dens and food.  They aregentle to the old, the young and the wounded or ill.  There is a joy inliving and working together in a strong community.  Although their earsand noses don't work as well as ours do, they are wise and reward those whoserve them with care and protection," replied dog.  
 
 
 
               "We of the wolf clan hunt and sing together," commented thewolf.  "But no one controls our freedom to come and go as wechoose.  I am no one's servant.  Someday when I have attained enoughwisdom, I will be the leader of my pack," he said.  "I do notthink mankind will allow you ever to rise so high."
 
               "There is only one leader at a time and not all will be able tolead.  There is much contentment in working together to serve thecommunity in which we live," replied the dog.  "Besides,leadership is a great responsibility.  If you are unwise in yourdecisions, then many more may suffer the consequences of your leadership thansimply yourself.  If you choose to lead, you must serve the greater goodof the pack."
 
               "Perhaps, but I may come and go as I choose and need only pleasemyself," said the young wolf.  "I can follow a leader if heseems to be the strongest and wisest or challenge his right to lead.  Ican choose to hunt alone for a time and test my skills breaking my owntrail."
 
               "It is a good thing to consider whether the one you follow is worthy ofyour loyalty.  It is good to make wise choices about the trail you choose totake.  But it is also good to work and live with others.  A communityis stronger than a single being.  I can understand your love of freedom,but for me, I am glad to share my gifts with a strong pack.  We must eachchoose the path that suits us best," said the dog.  Each of us mustbreak his own trail.  If I do so to serve my pack of men and you do so toserve yourself or a pack of wolves, each of us still chooses the direction wego given the nature of our hearts."
 
               "Then it is wise for us to look into our hearts and see what that natureis.  Only then will we truly break trail in the way that is best for eachof us," responded the young wolf.
 
 
 
Grandmother Spider thought these two had come toa good conclusion. Only by being oneself and following where our hearts caneach find the trail to follow through life. She had watched the tribe of menand was pleased with how the smaller females cared for children, and made agood place for them to live. The larger males used their strength to providefor all of the people. The people of two spirits were included for their wisdomand their talents to see both person’s value. Together, they made for a stronggrouping and created a community that allowed each to find the work that bestsuited them individually. She thought that was why they were so strong. Eachwoman, man, child and those with two spirits shared the work to be done to makea strong whole. This was both wise and good.
 
               "Listen to your hearts and break your own trail my children," socounsels grandmother spider.  "For the one who goes against hisnature will never truly find inner peace and contentment and discover the roadthat he is meant to walk."
 
                
 
 
 
_______________________________________________
Group1 mailing list
Group1 at bluegrasspals.com
http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/group1

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://bluegrasspals.com/pipermail/group1/attachments/20210415/3fac6329/attachment-0001.html>