The Fire Spoke To Chief Joseph On A Starless Night

Sitting by the fireside in the cold desert night, theits weight upon the traveler on this stage of the
sky above him pitch black and mysteriously voidworld.
of stars, he reflected on who he was and whatIt's the quotidian numbness of those who aren't in
he might have been and the history of thea war zone, who have food and shelter and
troubled times that were unfolding all around him.enough to meet their needs, who are well enough,
His name was Chief Joseph. Possibly the greatestand who move from day to day as shadows of
of the Nez Perce Indian Tribe.their own glory.
On a parchment in front of him, he wrote theseIf these numbers would step outside the hopeless
words.swamp of mediocrity, step outside the
"Let me be a free man.approximate dream, then they could heal the
Free to travel. Free to stop.major tragedies of war, hunger, and sickness.
Free to work. Free to choose my own teachers.Yet their genius and their collective will has been
Free to follow the religion of my fathers.trapped in the not-quite, the not-yet, and
Free to think and talk and act for myself."sometimes the not-at-all.
Then he began to reflect on what it might allThey have let the heroism of their soul which
mean. If someone were with him this night of hisbravely chose another incarnation fall to waste.
vision quest, what would he say?They are lonely for their own greatness.
Staring at the fire, he understood. For it spoke toThey are frustrated with life and getting what
him.they don't deserve.
Your inner fire is the best part of you.They are not able to reach for that inner
It's who you are inside. It's who you want to besomething that pulls at them.
on the outside.They do not wage battle against the stupidity
Every time you dream of what is possible forthat keeps them locked into insignificance.
you, it sparks.Yet the world they desire can be won.
Yet almost everybody reacts to it with fear.It is authentic.
And this is why, more than anything else, ourIt is probable.
world is in such a sorry state.It is their own.
It's not even the major tragedies-the wars, theWhen we feel the world inside, then we will find
poverty, the sickness, and death that impressesthe way to heal the world outside.