Everyone’s path is different. Many lead to the same destination, but the manner is which we arrive there, is a path we choose for ourselves.
The Creator put teachers and guides for us to help us along the way. Back in the days of old, our original teachers and guides were the animals and plants and all the natural environment.
Because of colonization, our true paths have been altered, and thus we have to work harder at seeing and innerstanding things in the world we live in.
The greatest teachers, only show you the door, and allow you to discover your own path. The greatest teachers, or “show-ers of the path” are exemplars of humility. I have had the experience of seeing the Grandfather teaching of humility in many of these show-ers of the path. Conversely I have seen the lack of humility in people who are held as these “leaders”
I was talking with this one aunty who was helping “show me the path” and she said, “It used to be that the Elders were just one of the people, and they walked with us. Now they are elevated on pedestals and that isn’t right.”
I suppose its the colonization of the world in which we live in, that suggests we praise and adorn those we see in positions of leadership, or “power”. You see it in the way a student strives for higher learning, and praises the professors, you see it in the way, people act around “celebrities” begging for an autograph. You see it in the way, when a Pipe Carrier is treated with special royalty.
I am at fault, for also putting people on pedestals, and elevating them to be more than me, or others. For example, I hold Uncle Vern in such reverence and once praised him for sobering me up. He politely told me, “I only showed you the door, you choose to walk through it.”
In recent months, after some “humiliation” teachings from the ancestors, I was forced to walk in more kinder, gentler, and humbler way. Last week I got to meet up with a group of people that walk in the “contrary” way and they were among the most modest and humble people I’ve met (although they could have been playing the trickster and forcing me to see something that I was not seeing). And again, I was shown some more humility and I learned some greater insight into why things are, and why perhaps people are they way they are.
The best “show-ers of the path” are truly humble, and will only show you the path. They may be People’s Pipe carriers, and if they are truly servants of the people, they will be kind, gentle, peaceful, and easily approachable. They will also not be gatekeepers of sacred knowledge and will share with you, if you ask.
If they are not, (and believe me, there are more of these people than the humble ones) then I dare you to question them on their teachings, and manner of practicing the Seven Sacred Teachings. If they lash out at you, and defend their mannerisms, then I would truly question their right to serve the people. As one aunty said to me, “There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who are in service of others, and those who are in service of themselves. Which one are you?”
The people I seek out to help show me the path are the ones that put their egos aside, and humble themselves lower than you, and show you, that you can in fact be more humble than you think you already are.
This aunty told me, “You should never have to defend and Elder, their actions will speak for themselves. If they are living in that good kind way, then they don’t need to be defended. And conversely you should question why you feel the need to defend them.”
Miigwetch to the the “show-ers of the path”, who have helped me along the way.
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