I do not have many friends and family, and those I do have are far and few in between. However I have one friend that is near by, and when I mean near it is a 2 day hike through the mountains to get to his cabin in the forested mountains, and when I mean a friend I mean he is more like a spirit guide grandfather friend.
So I made my 2 day journey through the woods and mountains, and this is a story all together that should be separate from the one I'm about to explain as there were all kinds of hazards and dangers along the way. Camping for the night made it to my friend's cabin the next morning.
It was good to see my old friend again, it was certainly awhile since the last time we talked. I brought him some supplies that he may need and use. We prepared food, tended the garden, patched up some leaks on the cabin roof, gathered fire wood, went fishing by the near by stream to catch some dinner, and did various chores all day. It is a busy and hard working life to live this way, but at same time he has freedom and gets to live surrounded by beautiful nature always.
After a very busy day of working and helping we finally had a chance to sit down at the fire and smoke from a peace-pipe and talk. He asked me "what is wrong my friend?, I can see something is bothering you." I replied "there are many difficult things going on in the world right now I'm having a difficult time trying to make sense of all of these terrible happenings, it saddens my heart, and my mind and spirit are taking a heavy toll."
So I asked him "why life has to be so very difficult sometimes?" He replied "Life has sadness as well as joy, losing as well as winning, falling as well as standing, hunger as well as plenty, bad as well as good." he paused for a moment and inhaled deeply the smoke from the peace-pipe. "I do not say this to make you despair, but to teach you reality."... "To teach you life is a journey sometimes walked in light, sometimes in shadow." ... "You have weaknesses as well as strengths, you have both because in life there are 2 of everything." ... "within you is the will to win, as well as the willingness to lose. the heart to feel compassion, as well as smallness to be arrogant. within you is the way to face life, as well as the fear to turn away from it."
I thought to myself this is profound words of wisdom from an old wise man, I should listen carefully. He continued. "Life can give you strength, it can come from facing the storms of life, from knowing loss, feeling sadness and heartache, from falling in the depths of grief." ... "You must stand up from the storms, you must face the wind and the cold and the darkness, when the storm is fierce you must stand firm, for it is not trying to knock you down, it is really trying to teach you to be strong."... "Being strong means taking 1 more step to the top of the hill no matter how weary you may be, it means letting the tears flow through grief, it means keep looking for the answer though the darkness of despair is all around you." ... he paused for another moment lit some incense of special healing herbs to fill the air and gazed at the fire, he went on to say "This means to cling to hope for 1 more heartbeat, for 1 more sunrise. Each step no matter how difficult is 1 more step closer to the top of the hill." ... "To keep hope alive for 1 more heartbeat at a time leads to the light of the next sunrise and a promise of a new day." ... " The weakest step toward the top of hill, toward the sunrise, toward hope is stronger than the fiercest storm."
"Now I have a special gift for you, however before I give this to you I would like for you to give up 3 of your powers in exchange. The gift is special in that you will embark on a journey which you cannot imagine, but you will gain much valuable knowledge and understanding of things much more clearer than before after your journey is complete. Please select 3 powers of your choice, 1 attack, 1 defense, and 1 movement." I thought if I give up these powers I may have the power to understand them and carefully selected the powers of Telepathic Assault, Confidence, and True Sight.
He told me to wait while he took my powers and returned with a container. The container contained a purplish greenish powder, he explained this is special ingredients made from mountain mushrooms and desert cactus, and that I should mix in a drink, not alcoholic, and drink it to begin my journey.
(Find out what happens next in the next installment)
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