Bear's Den: "'The Tree of Life' and Faith"

Umm... Pelaawi (summer). It´s nice to see, feel and smell, eh. It´s the time of growing and the grandmother who rules this time sits in the south. She brings much to her grandchildren via this growing season. But as with all things, faith is paramount for growth. I was asked recently, if I know anything, along an ´Indian line´ about the fairness of God´s ´benevolence´, regarding life and death. Well, I do know this... as do all two-leggeds... if they ponder it. And, that´s that the Creator´s benevolence, regarding fairness – in life and death, and everything else – is positively identical to trust. Fair for the two-legged has to do with trust in the Master of Life. It is absolutely, unequivocally and positively equal to... faith... in Him.

Now, Merriam-Webster´s Dictionary defines the word benevolent as ´marked by, or disposed to doing good´. Um-hmm, and as a thinking species, it´s often really difficult for a two-legged to understand this equitation when they´re about to lose a loved one. I´ve spent careers in the military, and as various kinds of a cop. Uh-huh, and over the last two years, my wife has teetered on the edge of passing to be with the Spirits while many around her, similarly afflicted, actually did so. So, in my time, I have seen death aplenty. I´ve felt its cold, bony hands and icy breath, and looked it right in its dedicated eye. It´s always sad and always scary and never, ever easy. But, in all likelihood... it probably isn´t supposed to be, either.

To many traditional Indians, life here upon the planet is meant to be a learning and helping experience for each and every two-legged. We grow in this way. But most importantly, it is a time to grow in spirituality and get close to the Creator. The lessons are about both good and bad but whatever the test, the correct answer is almost always going to be faith. In many American Indian cultures, life and death are often compared to a tree of many branches known as ´The Tree of Life". In essence, it represents the connection between spirit world and that of the terrestrial world. For many Indians, it´s symbolized as a spruce tree. The m'tekwi (pine tree) represents the idea that life, and all generations and cycles of it, come from the te-qui´s (tree´s) roots, which are enwrapped and nourished tightly within the Earth Mother. This life flows upward via the spirit world, through its branches, out to the needles, where all ´breathing life´ exists. Like the life of a two-legged, the needles on a tree, sprout, grow and experience the happenings around them until ultimately, they die and return again to the Earth Mother. Sure, and just as all two-leggeds eventually leave the breathing life, all conifers shed their needles, too. This occurs in a spruce about every 4-5 years, and happens all at once in the fall, when the normal life cycle of the needle is at its zenith. It´s akin to say a two-legged... growing to a ripe old age. But sometimes this shedding is premature and painfully slow, as with some two-legged´s passing into the next land. It happens for a multitude of reasons – disease, injury or... something far beyond our comprehension, and only within that... of the Great Good Spirit´s purview, eh. Yep, and while most reasons can be determined by human botanists and medical doctors, some... just plain-old can´t be. And it´s these cases, folks that fall within God´s purview and God´s purview... alone. And therein lays the doctrine of fair equaling faith for a two-legged.

When this transpires in the spruce, the remainder of the needles, which are healthy and vibrant, create an assumed unbalance. The dying needles slowly expire, while those all around them do not, just as life can end early for a two-legged in similar manner while others near them still remain strong. Sure, and for the observer looking at this... without the necessary faith... this makes the tree or life situation... appear unacceptable in appearance... unequal... or maybe even... unfair. Ah... but this is where the old saying about appearances being deceiving comes into play. That´s because the one doing the "Abra-Cadabra!" here... is the Creator. Yep, and this is all about faith and fairness – it surely is. Merriam-Webster´s Dictionary defines the word faith... as ´complete trust´ or, ´a firm belief in something for which there is no proof´. Hmm? It may seem that the two go hand in hand, but actually... there´s no truth... to there being ´no proof´. Uh-uh – nope. Proof exists, folks... everywhere, all around and in everything, every day and... in everyway – absolutely. From the birth of a new baby to the velvety sky to the very spruce needles we speak of and a zillion other miraculous things – the proof-positive is before us. All a body has to do is look... to see. So it is that every two-legged must have this eternal, complete trust in the Creator when we do not and cannot know of His motives or means.

While I´ve always known this, it was during the worst of neewa´s (my wife´s) battle with leukemia that I learned to lean even more heavily upon this faith. All during her illness, while I nursed her and watched her grow ever near to death... I never once deemed the situation as unfair. Nah and this is in spite of the fact that I love her more than life itself, and have always done so – positively. I inhale and she exhales – that´s just how it is. I would happily trade my own life for hers – anytime. But fairness is in the fact that I´ve had her to begin with and also... that the Master of Life granted us five kids and all the other lives that she´s touched, and many other things, as well. Couple this with all of our times – both good and bad – and it entirely equals this sum: fair is equal to faith.

As a two-legged, I, and you, too, have to always count on the fact that God, the Creator... knows best. I do all that I can in the two-legged realm but ultimately... He is in charge. His reasoning is always above my own and always will be, and this is a solid, undeniable fact. Why He does some things and not others... is beyond my comprehension. Therefore, I trust, unblinkingly, in His guidance and grace. Just as the spruce learns to deal with the premature loss of its needles, we are supposed to learn from a premature loss from amongst us, too. Along with other things from the experience, we are taught dignity, acceptance, grace and the importance of... faith. So, the Indian notion of the spruce tree reflecting life by taking in the repetitive cycles of learning, experience, and growth is pretty much indicative of American Indian spiritual thought. Physical death – be it in the spruce´s needles or in a two-legged – is simply a departure... from where all ´breathing life´ exists to that of another land.... invisible to us left existing here. But life goes on there, too. We are born of the Earth Mother and we return to the Earth Mother all... through the grace of the Great Good Spirit. Sure, and this is akin to the Christian Bible´s take on life, too... is it not?

Still, for those who know the spruce well, and love it, this can be a hard trace (trail) to walk. They see the dying needles and know that soon... a large hole will exist in the tree. And this loss will be painful for them. This branch or... a loved one is much the same, eh. We have to understand that for whatever reason that the Creator has allowed them to leave the ´breathing life´, creating the painful hole, that the te-qui (tree) which is all life... continues. Therefore... so do these lost needles or lost loved ones. Yes, and over time... the tree will spread out and partially fill this void, as is the way of the tree or... life... upon the Earth Mother. True, the observer who knows the spruce well... will always see and feel this hole. But through trust in The Great Mystery, they will know that the loss is only here, where ´breathing life´ exists. In the spiritual world, where we all come from and all return to... their loved ones... are alive and well. Now, you don´t get any fairer than that, folks, regardless of how it happens or transpires – it´s just a good deal. So, fair for the two-legged has to do with trust in the Master of Life. It is absolutely, unequivocally and positively equal to... faith... in Him.

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David Walks-As-Bear is an Inter-Tribal Elder and Kispoko Shawnee Indian. He works as a private game warden and detective captain, is a novelist and syndicated newspaper columnist living in Northwest Michigan. Contact him at The White Lake Beacon: 231-894-5356 or visit his website at: www.Walks-As-Bear.com