survival

                                                                    FORWORD
    Have you ever looked at the world around you and pondered on the things you see?
Have you ever thought that the whole world seems to be crazy? Have you ever
wondered why people always seem to hurt each other? Have you ever asked yourself if
anyone knows right from wrong--or if they even care? Some would think that right or
wrong depends upon which end of the stick you are on when someone is being beaten.
Might does not make right but it certainly makes prevailing conditions.
    There generally comes a time in each persons life that the question of what life is all
about comes to the forefront of their mind. There comes a time to decide what is really
important. One must eventually determine what value is, and what has value in one’s
life. When one is young the attitude in mind is that you are invulnerable. As time passes
the attitude changes as one realizes that our bodies are fragile and can be damaged.
The older one grows the more the question of death becomes a reality. Yet when you
think about it death can come at any time or at any age. Accidents happen when least
expected and our bodies are soft and our organs are delicate. Life is full of
uncertainties and there are no guarantees that our lives won’t end today. What we must
be certain of is that we are ready to meet the Great Spirit if and when our time comes to
leave this Earth. We can not live our lives in fear because in the final analysis there is
nothing to fear but fear itself. Fear is a mind killer and an energy drainer. To maintain
courage in a time of crises you must realize that the Great Spirit will not allow you to
perish even though death of the physical body may occur. To have courage is not to say
you have no fear, rather courage is the willingness to face the crises you must face in
spite of the fear in your mind. This story deals with fear, courage, values, spiritual truths,
and the virtues of truth, beauty, and goodness.
    Have you ever seen someone who was beautiful on the outside and everyone catered
to them. Everyone likes beautiful things and people tend to admire someone that is
beautiful to look at. Yet the outside is not the part that should be admired--rather it is
the inside that is important. It makes no difference if one is pretty on the outside if they
are ugly on the inside. The physical body is only a shadow of the real you, the soul. If
developing a beautiful soul is of importance to you then the time has come to tend the
garden in your mind where you plant the seeds that grow your soul. If one would
develop a beautiful soul then one must embrace a set of impeccable values and place
their feet upon the path of truth, beauty, and goodness. As you see the change it makes
in your life then teach your children the importance of spiritual values. Last but not least
take the time to help make our world a beautiful and loving place on which to live.
    Let me give you a seed to plant and nurture and then see what you may grow. This
particular seed is a seed for the mind to ponder.
    “In the springtime of youth a man shall sow many seeds of many crops. In the summer
of life the crops grow strong and produce an abundance. In the fall of life when the
crops are laid by a man shall have time to reflect and ponder on the choice of the seeds
he has sown and the crops produced. And in the wintertime of life comes the harvest.
And if the seeds and crops have been well chosen there is much joy and gladness. But
if the seeds and crops were poorly chosen and poorly tended, then there will be famine
and much sadness and time of regret.”

    This book is a work of fiction yet I have tried to include spiritual values in the writing
of it. If you feel a tugging of your heartstrings and compassion in your soul as you read
this story then I will have succeeded in my effort. And if tears blur your eyes as you turn
the pages you will know that you have truly stepped upon the path of truth, beauty, and
goodness--a path that will lead you to perfection.

CHAPTER 1

                                  “The quirks of fate may bring much anguish
                                 into your life but depending upon your attitude
                                 and reactions you can gain much soul growth.”

    Johnny SkyHawk was standing in his front yard looking toward the mountain past the
woods and meadow across the valley. The morning sky was showing a hint of the false
dawn that comes before Sunrise. He was greeting the day and giving thanks to the Great
Spirit for being with him. He loved this time of day when things were quiet and he could
think and meditate on the important things in living the life he had been given. His wife
Lena was still asleep as was his son Tommy. They neither one liked to get up early. Lena
didn’t mind staying up late at night but she was decidedly fond of sleeping in as late as
possible before climbing out of bed each morning. Their son Tommy took after Lena in
this respect. Johnny had once said that Tommy would miss the last bus to Heaven if it
left before nine o’clock in the morning. Johnny really didn’t mind if Lena and Tommy
slept in late because it gave him some quiet time for his meditations. He loved them
both and loved to be with them and to do things with them but he did savor his
uninterrupted morning meditations. Tommy was five years old now and Johnny had been
training him all his young life in how to read a trail and about the habits of all the
animals. He was also teaching him about the medicinal herbs that grew in the
countryside and how to use them. He was teaching the boy the same as his grandfather
had taught him when he was a child himself. As he stood there he gave some thought as
to what he could teach the boy today. He considered taking him over to the foot of the
mountain and visiting the wolf pack that lived in the cave there. The wolves were always
good for a lesson or two and they were good friends to have on the property. Most
people didn’t understand that wolves made good neighbors and they feared them. Yet
there has never been even one recorded instance of an unprovoked wolf attacking
humans and they usually avoided any contact with humans as well. Johnny was teaching
his son about the wolves and how they kept the rabbit population in check as well as
keeping the deer herd healthy. It was rare for a wolf to kill a farmer’s livestock and then
it was only the sick or crippled animals that fell prey to them. The main staple for wolves
is field mice and rabbits and they do a lot for farmers by keeping the rodent population
under control.
    Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly Johnny relaxed his body and cleared his
mind of all thoughts and just concentrated on the soft pulsating white light that filled his
mind. “Thank you my Spirit Father for being with me and guiding my steps each day,” he
projected in prayer. “I pray that you will always guide my steps as I walk the path you
have given me in life. Thank you for being with my son as I try to teach him the important
things in life and try to guide his footsteps onto the path of truth, beauty, and
goodness.” Johnny remained silent and relaxed for a short while soaking up the white
light filled with love that the Great Spirit surrounded him with. He remained in his
meditative state for a few minutes and then he heard a soft, nearly silent voice that
whispered in his mind. “My son you please me by your steadfast commitment to the
impeccable ethics and values you strive to live by. It pleases me even more to see you
try to instill the same values in your son. Teach him well my son and when you leave
your life on Earth to take up residence on the Mansion Worlds he will become a teacher
like unto yourself. My love I give to you, my peace I spread over you like a blanket, and I
will be with you always -- even to the end.”
    Johnny stayed in the yard enjoying the quiet time until the sun peeked over the
horizon. Finally he took a deep breath and turned to go into the kitchen for his first cup
of coffee for the day. After pouring a cup he walked to his bedroom and stood in the
doorway looking at Lena as she slept. “How lovely she is,” he thought. “I have certainly
been blessed by having a woman like this to walk the path with. I have been twice
blessed because now we have a son.” He turned to go back outside and was nearly to
the front door when the phone rang. He quickly went to answer it so the ringing would
not awaken Lena and Tommy. He could move fast when the occasion called for it and he
managed to pick up the phone after the first ring.
    “Speak to me,” he said. It irritated him somewhat for anyone to call them this early.
Being a medicine man and a spiritual leader for his people sometimes caused his phone
to ring at the most inconvenient times.
    “Hello Johnny it sounds like I may have caught you at a bad moment,” he heard
someone say. “I sometimes forget the difference in the time zones.”
    “Oh hello Hollis,” Johnny said, “how are you? How are Martha and Joey? We haven’t
seen you for quite awhile now -- what have you been up to?”
    “Well, first of all, we are all doing fine. It has been a long time since we saw each
other last. I want to thank you for all the good work you have been doing with the
children we have been sending for you to teach. Your method is so different from our
own that the children gain a world of good when they are with you. That brings me to
what I am really calling about. We want the children to learn the history of this world and
to know about the people from the past as well. We have heard of several ancient
temples that are in the rain forest in a neighboring country and would like to take the
children to see them. I would like to have you come along with them and act as a guide
and teacher. You could bring Lena and Tommy and it would be a nice vacation for you.
Of course we would pay all expenses plus something extra for your services.”
    “Well Hollis,” Johnny replied, “I would be glad to come along with you and it would be
a great opportunity for Tommy to learn a few things as well. There is no need to talk
about payment though because I have been wanting to take a vacation anyway. You
have been more than generous in your remittances for the children's instructions in the
past few years so this trip is on me.”
    “As you wish,” Hollis said, “but at least allow me to pick up all the expenses. My
country can well afford to do it and I will feel a lot better just knowing that you will be
along to keep the children safe.”
    “Sounds like a plan to me,” Johnny said, “when do you want to start this trip and
where will we meet you?”
    “How about seven days from now on Monday the fourth,” Hollis asked? “That would
give you time to prepare for the trip and also give me time to make the arrangements. I
will send our plane for you and have it at the airport in Tulsa for a nine AM flight. Is that
all right with you?”
    “That will be fine,” Johnny replied. “That will give me time to let all my people know
that I won’t be available for a while and also to have my neighbor look after my place
while I am gone.”
    “Good,” Hollis said. “I will get started making the arrangements. I probably won’t talk
to you until you get here but I will meet the plane when you land. So until then take care
of yourself and tell Lena and Tommy I said hi.”
    “You take care of yourself also,” Johnny said, “and tell Martha and Joey that I said hi.
I know that Lena will be looking forward to seeing Martha again.”
    As he hung up the phone Johnny heard a telepathic voice in his mind. “Who was on
the phone Dear?”
    He looked around and saw Lena standing in the doorway to the bedroom. She never
ceased to amaze him because she always looked so lovely even when she got out of bed
of a morning. “It was Hollis,” Johnny replied with his mind. “They want us to go with
some children to a rain forest and search for some old temples. I’m sorry the phone
woke you. Go back to bed if you want to.”
    “When do we go,” she asked? “I will need to get someone to look after the garden
while we are gone.”
    “We will leave next Monday and I would imagine we might be gone for several
weeks,” Johnny replied. “Hollis said he would have their plane at the Tulsa airport to
pick us up and they will pay all the expenses while we are gone. I wanted to take a short
vacation anyway and maybe this will be fun.”
    “I think so too,” she said, “and I know Tommy will have a lot of fun. He always loves to
see new things in the woods and with the other children being along he will be thrilled.
Let me get a cup of coffee and I will go outside with you and we can enjoy the new
morning together.”
    Johnny just smiled and walked on outside. “It is a beautiful morning,” he thought. “It
reminds me of what my grandfather always said to me and that is to always look for the
beauty. Life is more alive and pleasant when one takes the time to see the beauty in
what they are seeing. People spend so much of life in rushing here and there that they
never see the beauty around themselves. They are so busy contending with life and
their everyday routine that they forget to take the time to nurture their souls.”
    Lena came out then and they stood together in silence for a little while watching the
rabbits in the edge of the meadow and the squirrels chasing each other in the branches
of the trees. It was a pleasant morning and it promised to be a nice day.
    “Would you like to go see the wolves today,” Johnny asked? “I thought I might take
Tommy there and see what I could find to teach him.”
    “That sounds like a great idea,” Lena said. “I will make us a picnic lunch and we can
stay for awhile. I will also take some meat for the wolves and maybe we can let Tommy
feed them. It will be fun to watch his expression when the wolf takes the meat from him.”
    “Yes it will,” Johnny replied. “I have taken him to see the wolves before but I always
keep at a distance. You are right though, it is time for him to see them up close and get
to meet them. I want him to know that they are friends and that they won’t hurt him.”
    “I don’t think he is afraid of them,” Lena said. “In fact,” she laughed, “there is not
much he is afraid of. Of course that might not be good if it causes him to become
careless around something dangerous. But I guess he has to learn about everything
sometime.”
    “Knowledge is always a good thing,” Johnny said. “My grandfather always said that a
man could never get enough knowledge. There was one thing he always said to me
when I needed reminding about paying attention and learning something. He always
said, “the mind is like a bucket of water. If you use it more truth will be added until it
overflows, yet if it is not used it will stagnate.”   I have found that he was right and I just
hope that I can pass that insight along to Tommy. I hope that he will learn just as I have
that revelation comes when you seek diligently for new and higher truths.”
    “That is true,” Lena said. “I didn’t even realize that I was searching for higher truths
until I met you. In fact I think that is the reason that we were brought together. I have
sure learned a lot now though. I think the most important thing that you have taught me
is to keep searching for truth -- to never become complacent with what I know.”
    “I can see that you are gaining wisdom,” Johnny answered. “There can never be an
end to new and higher truths. That will be our quest throughout eternity and that is what
will keep us from ever becoming bored with life. For those that slog through life without
ever questioning if there could be something different, life becomes a chore, their mind
shuts down, and they cease to learn and grow. A person can grow old and their body
may become stiff and fail them yet their mind can still be as vibrant and alive as an eagle
soaring high in the heavens.”
    “I don’t know how wise I am,” Lena laughed, “but at least I am wise enough to know
that there are lots of things I don’t know. I do know one thing though and that is the
Great Spirit will give you answers if you will but ask for them.”
    “You are so right,” Johnny said. “My grandfather said something like that once. He
said; in the search for higher truth, it is not what you know without question, yet rather
will the wise man question that which he knows.”
    “Your grandfather was a wise man indeed,” Lena said. “He taught you well and now
you are teaching our son as well as the other children. I watch you sometimes when you
are instructing them and I marvel at the simple technique you use. You show them that
everything in life can be your teacher. The sun, rain, wind, even things of the Earth such
as a blade of grass or the shadow of a leaf can teach them something if they will only
look closely.”
    Johnny smiled and then said, “my grandfather told me something when I was but a
small boy that I have always remembered and it has helped me gain a much better
perspective of the world and the people on it. He said, “Through diligent study you will
gain much understanding of the mysteries of life, and through understanding you find
release of fear while gaining inner strength. And when you have gained all knowledge
and understanding, and it is time to lay down the life in the flesh, you will then be ready
to start your quest for truly important knowledge.”
    “I wish I could have met him,” Lena said. “He was a wise man and from all you have
told me about him he was not only a good man but also a great man. I am just glad that
he taught you about spiritual matters and now you are teaching Tommy. There is such a
need today for a spiritual awakening. The world seems to be going at such a fast pace
that no one has the time to think about their spiritual growth. It seems like everyone is
into greed and pleasure with no thought to the consequences.”
    “You are right,” he replied. “There is much negativity in the world and no one seems
to have the time to enjoy the beauty all around us. The problem a lot of people
encounter trying to gain soul growth and spiritual truths is that their negative thinking
and actions offset the progress they gain. After awhile they just stop trying and their life
becomes even more negative. It is so important to take time each day to get quiet within
and commune with the Great Spirit. It is through contact with him in the mind that
produces soul growth. When people are so concerned with just trying to earn a
livelihood they forget to take the time to meditate. Yet that is the time they need to
meditate more than ever. For it is in those situations that they need guidance from the
Great Spirit the most.”
    “You are right Dear,” Lena said. “Yet what can be done about it? What can people do
to gain spiritual growth instead of growing more negative?”
    Johnny looked thoughtful for a moment and then he said, “If one truly desires to walk
a spiritual path, following the leading of the Indwelling Spirit, then they must develop an
impeccable desire for truth, beauty, and goodness. To accomplish this they must release
the impediments of previous conditioning from their nature and their mind. They must
go within to the quiet recesses of their mind and through silent communion with the
Spirit Father make those decisions based upon eternal realities of how they will live their
life. When one has arrived at the irrevocable choice to walk an eternal path in
partnership with their Spirit Father they will receive such strength of character, such
soul awakening, such an infusion of Divine love that their life here will become an
inspiration to all they meet.”
    “But how will they know to even try to do those things,” she asked? “It almost seems
as if people don’t even know that they have a problem. How can they be awakened so
they will start on their search?”
    “I think that most people know that they have a problem,” Johnny said. “I think they
know that there is negativity all around them and that the pressures and struggles of
daily living unrelentingly grinds them down. I think most people are looking for an
answer, albeit they may not be conscious of the fact that they are searching. I believe
that the way we can help them is to so live our lives that they will see the goodness and
then try to find some answers for themselves. Each thing we do in life will influence
someone that observes our action in one way or another. We should strive to become a
positive influence on everyone who sees us. With enough positive influence in their
lives everyone will change.”
    “I know you are right,” Lena said, “but I sure wish there were some way to speed up
the process. I guess I will just have to exercise some patience and when the season for
peace and harmony arrives I will have my own soul in order.”
    “You are already far along on the path Darling,” Johnny said. “You are filled with
compassion for those that exist in despair and it is good that you have the desire to help
them. Yet you must always remember that they are the Great Spirit’s children and it is he
who will guide their lives. You may help only insofar as allowing them to see the beauty
in your life and to see how your light shines for truth, beauty, and goodness. On a dark
and cloudy night you can build a fire on a tall mountaintop and all who are sitting in the
valleys in darkness will see your light. That would be good to help guide them through
the woods in this physical reality. Yet if you will fill your mind, your heart, and your soul
with the Spirit Fathers love and truth you will become a spiritual light on the path of
eternal life to those who sit in the valleys of material darkness around you.”
    They stood together in warm embrace for several minutes more and then Lena went
back into the house to start breakfast. Johnny stood looking at the mountain with his
mind deep in thought. As he was thinking about what he and Lena had just been
discussing something his grandfather had told him many years before came to mind. The
old man had said, “my boy always give thanks to the Great Spirit for every aspect of your
life. Without spirit guidance man can not hope to overcome those animalistic tendencies
inherent in his nature from being evolved from animals. Therefore remember to give
thanks to the Great Spirit for giving a part of his spirit to indwell your mind and give you
the perceptance to attain higher values while guiding you to the path of light and life.”
He thought about his grandfather for a few more minutes and then turned and went into
the house. He stood for a moment in the doorway to the kitchen watching Lena and then
he went to the coffeepot to pour another cup.
    When he started to sit at the table Lena stopped him by saying, “go wake up Tommy.
Tell him to get dressed so he can eat breakfast. Perhaps if you tell him we are going to
see the wolves he will want to get up.”
    Johnny smiled and went to Tommy’s bedroom. He knew that the boy never wanted to
get up of a morning and he knew that Lena realized that in order to get the kid to move it
would have to be for something he wanted. Tommy had always shown a keen interest in
the wolves and Johnny knew that he would want to go see them. Johnny really smiled
when he looked at Tommy in his bed. The boy was almost lying crosswise in his bed with
all the covers twisted up around his neck. His body and legs were uncovered and it
looked as if he might be cold. Of course with the mild weather they had been having
lately it never got too cold at night. Johnny knew though that when asleep the
metabolism slows way down and with ones circulation slowed down the body loses heat.
He went to the side of the bed and reached down and touched Tommy’s shoulder.
    “Wake up son,” he said. “Wake up and greet the new day. Your mom has breakfast
nearly ready and it sure smells good. Hurry and get up son, because today I am going to
take you to see the wolves. I think I will let you give them some meat and see if they will
eat out of your hand.”
    Hearing these words Tommy came awake. He didn’t want to get up yet but at least he
was waking up. After a few moments when he had awakened enough to keep his eyes
open he asked, “are you really going to let me feed them? Do you think they will really
take the meat from my hand? You don’t think they would bite my hand, do you?”
    “No,” Johnny laughed, “they won’t bite your hand. But yes son, they will eat from your
hand. Even though you have not been up close to them they know who you are and they
know that you will not hurt them. They have seen you with me and they know that you
belong here. Get dressed now and wash your hands and face. Come sit at the table
when you are done.”
    Johnny turned and went back to the kitchen and sat down at the head of the table.
Tommy finally crawled out of his bed and went to the bathroom sink and washed his
hands and face. After he had dried good he went back to his bedroom and got dressed.
When he went to the kitchen he saw that Lena had a platter filled with pancakes and
bacon. She saw him and started frying his eggs. She made sure that the whites were
well done and the yoke still runny just the way he liked them. She had sliced some
tomatoes earlier and now she took them out of the refrigerator and placed them on the
table. After pouring the boy a glass of milk she sat down at her place next to Johnny and
they started eating.
    Now that Tommy was awake good and seated in front of all that delicious food he
started shoveling it in. He was excited about going to see the wolves so he was eating a
little faster than he normally did -- if that was possible.
    “Slow down son,” Lena said. “There is no need to rush so just take the time to chew
before swallowing it whole.”
    “But mom,” he protested, “we are going to go see the wolves and I want to hurry and
get there. Daddy said I can feed them some meat and that they will eat it right out of my
hand. I just hope they are there and not off roaming around somewhere.”
    “Oh I think they will be there all right,” Lena answered. “But right now you need to
slow down and chew your food properly.”
    “Oh mom!” Tommy exclaimed, but then he did slow down his fork somewhat. For such
a young boy he was not stupid in the least and was a fast learner. He was plenty smart
enough to know that when his mom told him to do something that he had better listen.
She had a way of reinforcing her instruction that he knew he didn’t want to experience
very often. She never hit him hard enough to do any damage but the few times she had
applied a keen switch to his tender behind certainly got his attention. Johnny looked at
Lena with a smile on his face and winked at her.
    “Don’t be smiling at me,” she said while grinning herself. “You are not such a good
example to the boy yourself when you eat. Sometimes I think that the Great Spirit must
have just designed men to be rude, crude, and ill mannered.”
    “Actually,” Johnny said, “he designed us to be perfect. Of course he knew that with
our natures we would tend to be impatient and try to rush at times. That is why he made
the female of the species. He knew we would need to be slowed down at times and have
someone to tell us to stop so he made a whoa-man to look after us.”
    “Yes dear,” she replied. “You just keep on spouting that nonsense so the boy will get
his head filled up with the wrong things but I will remember you saying it and later when
it is convenient I will remind you that you were being ornery and make you stop.”
    Johnny only grinned wider and said, “you can do that if you want but it will be hurting
you just as much as it would me. Perhaps we can call a truce and bury the hatchet.”
    “At times you are so ornery I want to bury it in your ear,” she laughed. “You probably
should be eating instead of talking -- you would get in less trouble that way.”
    The rest of breakfast time was spent in serious eating. Actually that was one thing
that all three of them liked to do -- they loved to eat good food that was well prepared. It
didn’t take long to finish breakfast and while Johnny was cleaning up the dishes Lena
packed a picnic lunch to take with them. She also took a five pound roast out of the
refrigerator that she had planed to cook but now she would let Tommy carry it to feed the
wolves. The young wolves always migrated to find their own territory after a couple of
years but the old wolf couple always stayed in the cave at the foot of the mountain. They
had two half grown pups at this time. Lena had a special attachment to these wolves.
When Johnny had been up in the Yukon five years previously helping to catch a
kidnapper Lena had dressed the wounds on the large male wolf. They thought that a
panther had made the wound and the wolf had been lucky to escape the encounter
alive. The large male had come to the edge of their yard several times and they would
speak to him and he would look at them for a few minutes and then he would leave.
Once when the old wolf came Lena had asked, “why do you think he comes here?”
    “It is hard to say,” Johnny replied, “but I think that he just comes to visit and to make
sure that we are still in the country. He knows us and trusts us, but even more than that
I think he likes us. I think he especially likes you since you were the one that dressed
his wounds when the panther clawed him. The wolves are good neighbors and I am glad
they like us and want to stay on our place.”
    “Well I like him too,” Lena said. “He is such a noble animal. He is proud and
independent and he must be pretty smart to avoid the hunters that roam the country.”
    Tommy finished his breakfast quite a bit faster than his parents and he showed much
impatience when his father seemed to take forever eating. Tommy was frustrated to no
end when Johnny sat at the table after he had finished his breakfast just sipping slowly
on a cup of coffee. Johnny pretended that he didn’t notice that Tommy was about to take
a fit because he wanted to hurry and go to see the wolves. It was hard to keep a straight
face but Johnny knew that it was a good opportunity to use as a lesson to teach Tommy
to learn patience. He sat there smiling on the inside and when he looked at Lena she
just rolled her eyes and smiled. “You are being pretty hard on him don’t you think,” Lena
projected a question in a thought.
    “It is always a hard lesson to learn patience as a small boy,” Johnny silently
answered. “It is better though that he learn it now than later in life. By learning to
exercise patience now he will be able to learn other lessons about life and living a lot
easier through the years.”
    “I know you are right,” Lena answered with her mind, “but I just feel so sorry for him.
It is very hard for someone his age to want to do something or go somewhere and have
the grownups dawdle along wasting their time.”
    “I feel sorry for him too,” Johnny replied, “and it is hard for me not to spoil him
because he is such a good boy but it is my sacred trust to teach him everything that my
grandfather taught me. If you will pour me another cup of coffee I will try to drink it
before he has a conniption.”
    “You are a hard man Dear,” she sent. “I love you though and I guess you are really an
old softy most of the time. I will get you some coffee but just don’t let it spoil you and
make you lazy.”
    “Thank you Darling, I love you too,” he projected back. “Don’t worry about me getting
spoiled though I have a real good whoa-man to keep me in line.”
    “Keep it up Sweetheart,” she sent while snorting. “I can always manage to spill this
coffee on you.”
    “You win,” he sent, “you are a good woman though and I know I seem to be ornery at
times. I do love you though and I appreciate everything you do for me.”
    “I know you love me,” she smiled. “And one of the reasons I love you so much is that I
can always get the best of you when it comes to teasing.”
    Finally Johnny finished his coffee and got up from the table. Little Tommy looked so
relieved that Johnny and Lena nearly laughed.
    “Is everyone ready to go,” Johnny asked? “Let us not waste any more time. Tommy
Pick up that piece of meat for the wolves and let’s go. Hurry now, don’t dawdle.”
Lena just looked at him and grinned while shaking her head.

                                                    VARIATION ON A THEME

    When Johnny was a young boy not quite old enough yet to become interested in girls
other than to be somewhat irritated at them when they were being clumsy and acting
stupid his grandfather taught him a valuable lesson about judging people. He was with
his old grandfather one day on the back side of Bear Mountain where they were picking
some exceptionally large blackberries that were hanging in full ripeness. They both had
a couple of buckets that they were putting the best of the berries in to carry back to the
house for making jelly to store for the year. Johnny had berry juice all over his face and
seemed to be eating as many berries as he was putting into the buckets. His old
grandfather smiled to himself and was happy to see the boy enjoying himself so much.
He was thinking about something the boy had said earlier in the day and it seemed to him
that each generation of children had to learn the same lessons all over again. He was
somewhat concerned also because the parents in these days didn’t seem to be teaching
the children values that they should be learning. Johnny had remarked earlier that girls
sure were stupid and the old man wanted to address that subject now after he had given
it some thought.
    “My son,” the old man said, “let us go over to the spring there and get a cold drink of
water. And when we have quenched our thirst we can sit in the shade of the tree there
to rest and cool off for a little while.”
    After they had a drink of the cold, crystal clear water that bubbled up from the side of
the mountain and were sitting in the shade the old man broached the subject.
    “Yesterday you said you thought that girls were stupid,” he stated. “I think that you
will one day find the opposite to be true. Of course it will be a few years before you will
understand better and will have more information to base your opinion on. Right now
you view the world from a certain perspective but as you gain experience and
knowledge you will find that your perspective will broaden. What I am saying to you is
that you must not judge anything hastily but rather, you should see things from all angles
and be sure of what you see. Things are not always as they seem and the more you can
widen your vision and enhance your understanding the more you will gain in wisdom.
You must become as a wolf in your awareness of everything around you. You must
become like a spirit gliding silently through the mist to shatter the illusion of the surface
and gain access to the inner depths of the soul of reality, and in so doing learn the truth
as it comes to the surface.”
    “I guess I should not say that anyone is stupid grandfather,” Johnny said, “I will try to
learn about girls and why they act the way they do. I sure don’t understand them now.”
    The old man smiled and thought for just a second and then said, “always remember
what I will tell you now. There are many kinds of people in the world. They all have
different customs, habits, and traditions. They all think differently and they come from
everywhere. Yet with all their differences they are all people and the thing they all have
in common is the fact that they are children of the Great Spirit. You must learn to be
more observant and study people well so you will understand everything about them and
what motivates them. Think on these things my son and keep your mind and heart open
to the path of truth, beauty, and goodness. With enough love, compassion, and mercy in
your heart and mind one day soon you will become an Impeccable Warrior and it is at that
time that you will be able to do good things for the world.”
    Johnny remembered his grandfather’s words that were spoken that day and he never
again allowed himself to pass judgment on anyone. It took a few years before he was
able to understand women and how their minds worked but there did arrive a day that he
found himself to be in total agreement with his grandfather. He finally came to realize
that every body was different and yet everybody was the same. He eventually
understood that being different did not make someone stupid--it just meant that they
were different. The more he came to understand the more respect he had for everyone
with whom he came into contact. He found that in order to have self respect he had to
have respect for others as well.

1st Chapter Of Survival