by Michael Jennings

Created on: June 17, 2008

"When We Are Ruled by Fears"
Today I wish to speak of fears and how they can take away your dreams. For when we let fear rule our lives' we can never move forwards and become or reach our full potential in this life.

We must look deep within ourselves and fine the courage to face the fears that hold us shackled in place; for once we face them they'll fade away. My mother was a medicine woman and she helped all that spirit sent her way. I as a young boy watched her and learned by the examples she would set. I can remember a time in the village of my people, the elders called a meeting of all that lived in our village. The chief decided that a medicine man from another village would come and take the place of my mother; he said. She was to step down as she had no place when it came to treating the tribe as she was a woman and an outsider. He told her, you and the young ones with you do not belong here!

I remember that I became very angry and I reached down and picked up a stone from the ground. My mother, very quietly told me in her softest voice, Son put it down and do not throw it at your elder. I wanted to hurt him because he hurt and embarrassed her in front of the whole village and he did not care that he was doing so. But she in her great wisdom knew that things would one day change.

We left the circle in the center of the village and returned home. My mother said to me, Son violence is never the answer to solving one's problems and that creator knew what was best for her and one day the elders in the great village would change their ways. For grandfather spirit had come to her in vision. He told her a great sickness which would sweep over the valley, by way of the fog and that all that once rejected her would call out to her and ask for her for help.

Mother refused to treat those that came to her in fear that it might anger the elders of the village. She began to turn those away that came to her door. Soon she stopped going to the village and seldom ventured far from the house. Only going out to gather what plants and herbs she needed and then straight back to our home. She became salient and isolated her self from all that she loved. She let her fears of displeasing the elders stop her from living her dreams.

At least that was what I thought; for I was but a young boy at the time. The sickness came on the fog as was told to her that it would; soon the people of our village became sickened by an unseen enemy. One by one they all became sick and the medicine man could'nt help those that fell ill as he did not understand the nature or the cause of this strange illness. Soon even he succumbed to the sickness and was bed ridden and could not move.

I remember well that day, for my mother gathered her herbs and filled her medicine bag and then went into the village and began tending to the sick. She was gone for two weeks and stayed in the homes of those she nursed back to health until they were well enough to tend for them selves. What I had mistook for fear was not what I thought; she stayed to her self and knowing what it was to come she set out early to gather the plants and herbs needed to cure all that fell sick in the village.

Though she did not want to upset the elders she used the time needed to gather the medicine before as she knew that the plants she needed would not be easy to find as the sun would dry them out. If she had waited there wouldn't have been any medicine to treat those that had succumbed to the unseen enemy. The elders soon came to respect her and the people of our village told the chief that she must be allowed to do what she did best. My mother remained in the village of our people and was always there when needed.

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