The legendary Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage to manhood is interesting. The father of the boy takes him into a forest; further, he is blind folded and left there alone. He has to sit there on a stump the whole night and is not allowed to remove the blindfold until next morning. Once he successfully survives this forest test, he is declared a man. It is natural that the boy would be terrified. But in the morning, as the blind fold is removed, each boy is destined to be surprised to see his father waiting aside on his guard. No Cherokee boy is allowed to share his forest experience to another boy and so no one on test is told of this protection. This story teaches us a great moral; either we are aware or not, nobody here is left astray. Any Cherokee boy could have cried aloud or trembled in fear which would have only helped to substantiates ones’ inefficiency to be a man. In the morning, the boy but understands that it would have been much greater, if he could have spent the night on the stump unmoved and unbothered. If our immediate caretakers are so much worried on our good health what could be the attitude of this great universe from which we emerged? The truth is that we are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us.
God talks to us through chances and situations. It is our inability to remain always in gratitude that creates havoc. Everything happens for a reason; be it illness, injury, or sheer stupidity - all occur to test the limits of our soul. This rule is not limited to a particular cast, sex or community; this is applied to every particle in this universe. This protection is the birth right of everything in this universe. Without painful burning acid tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart to. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because they are teaching you to love and open your heart and eyes to things you would have never seen or felt without them. Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people whom you have never talked to before; tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you either. You can make out of your life anything you wish. The old Indian adage says that ‘you are your own master and you make your own future’. Create your own life and then go out and live it. Always remember that a great power is sitting aside on the next stump guarding you from all possible problems. All that you need to do is keep listening to His voice and trusting His ambience. Trust does not mean just an understanding or simple belief or hard blind faith but a life in absolute surrender to His Presence.
