Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth’s rite of Passage?
At a certain age, or maturity, his father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the entire night and not remove the blindfold until he can feel the rays of the morning sun shine on him. He cannot cry out for help to anyone, but must sit silently showing no fear.
Once he survives the night, he is a man.
He cannot tell the other boys of this experience,
because each lad must come into manhood on his own.
The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises.
Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth. It shook the limbs of the trees above, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man!
Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold.
It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him.
He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.
We, too, are never really alone.
Even when we don’t know it, we have someone watching over us,
Sitting on the stump beside us.
When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out.
We can also be that caretaker who watches over others at home, and at work… protecting those who are are our care while helping them to grow.
