Teachers Everywhere

Nez Perce's Chief Joseph

"It does not require many words to speak the truth."

"We were contented to let things remain as the Great Spirit made them."

- - - - -

"This we know. . .

the earth does not belong to man,

man belongs to the earth.

All things are connected, like blood which connects one family.

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the earth.

Man did not weave the web of life--

he is merely a strand in it.

Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."

~~~Chief Seattle 1854

I recall the story of an eight-year-old child whose IQ tested in the genius category.

Unfortunately, the child was told she was different from others in her class and she presumed it meant better. The child danced about with self-important pride. When her mother caught wind of the child's arrogance, the mother carefully chastised her.

"But mother, I am brighter than most people in this country!"

The mother quickly knelt to her child's level and explained, "Every person on earth is blessed with a secret wisdom; each knows something about how to live, about how to be happy."

Much later in life, after the child had grown into a woman, she dreamed that she stood at a threshold where many people were passing through her door. She didn't know where they came from or where they were going, but that didn't seem to matter. Each time someone passed by her, she was handed a gift. Each gift was unique. Each was given along with these words, "Here is something for you to keep and treasure. It is only mine to give." The meaning of the dream was clear.

Some people pass through our doorways on their way to the rest of their lives. We may never see or hear from them again. Yet each has left something behind.

We are part of everyone we touch, they a part of us.

All men are our teachers.

DREAM Z-Z-Z-Z

BULL IN THE FIELD

I've always had very vivid dreams. As a child I woke in the middle of the night crying after nightmares. Mom would always come into my room to comfort me until I fell asleep again. The dreams of my childhood were nothing compared to my menopausal dreams! Throughout my life, I've had several recurring dreams. My most frightening childhood nightmare recurred because of a real life event.

During elementary school, one of my friends lived through the block and sometimes I'd go to house to play after school. To get to her house, I could do the smart thing by walking down our street, along Holladay Boulevard, then up the hill to Sandy G.'s house. OR I could do the dumb thing by cutting through the neighbor's backyard and crossing through the field behind their house wherein a huge black bull was kept.There was a fence around field, but I could crawl under it and make a mad dash to the other side, before the bull saw me. That's how it happened most of the time.

Sandy would wait at her back door to make sure I didn't get chased and gored by the bull. She reminded me to wear dark colors. One day I forgot her instructions and wore my red dress. Sure enough the bull spotted me the second I crawled under the fence. He was snorting and pawing the ground by the time I stood up. He was off and charging by the time I started scampering through the lush grass. My little legs were not a match. I started crying and dodging and fell face down in a muddy marsh area just as the bull ran past! I waited until the bull was at the other end of the field, jumped up and dashed to the other side, SUCCESSFULLY!

When I arrived at Sandy's house I was covered with mud, tears streaming down my cheeks. She was sympathetic, but laughed under her breath. She had warned me!I relived that experience in my sleep for many years.

However, I also dreamed that the bull was loose running up and down my street and crashing through our front door! That dream actually came true, while my mother, my sister and I were at the Hogle Zoo. The Brahma bull got loose and was running through the park. Everyone was terrified! Luckily no one was injured.

Yellowstone in the Olden Days

After the infamous Bull, bears were my next greatest fear and the reason for many nightmares.

Our family used to go to a Dude Ranch in Jackson Hole during the 1950s. After a week of riding horses and swimming, we'd head for Yellowstone. Those were the days when the black bears lined up along the highway, begging for Wonder Bread and Fritos. It was sort of like the cartoon Yogi Bear & BooBoo. These cute fuzzy Teddy's couldn't hurt anyone, could they?

My family was at Old Faithful sitting with hundred of other spectators waiting for the momentous eruption. I was hot, tired, and hungry and wanted to go back to the car to nap and eat potato chips. Unbelievably my parents let me go. (Obviously, it was the era of innocence.) With the car keys in hand, I starting looking for our car in the vast parking lot. As I went between two cars and turned to the right, I was met a real live Yogi, face to face. Shocked and horrified I ran all the way back to Old Faithful!

My dreams about bears always involved bears getting into our house. Somehow I survived the bull and bear nightmares of my youth, only to be replaced by dreams having to srepeat high school (at my current age) and moving into a house that is falling apart, but that's another story for another blog.