Forty Thousand Winters
Sit close to the fire.
Look at my hand.
Seven things.
When I am gone, you will carry them.
First—Remember the Fire.
Fire gives warmth. Fire gives light. Fire keeps the dark beyond the circle.
Guard it.
Feed it.
Share it.
For the one who keeps the fire keeps the people.
Second—Remember the Earth.
The earth gives the root. The root gives the berry. The berry gives the child.
Take only what you need.
Give thanks with your hands.
When you walk, walk softly.
The earth remembers every foot.
Third—Remember the Animals.
The deer runs.
The lion watches.
The mammoth walks beneath the sky.
They are not only meat.
They are breath.
They are strength.
They are teachers.
When you take a life, do not take it lightly.
Remember the eyes that looked back at you.
Fourth—Remember the People.
No one lives alone.
When the old one falls, lift them.
When the child cries, hold them.
When the hunter returns, make room at the fire.
Your life is woven into other lives.
Do not cut the cord.
Fifth—Remember the Night.
There are things you cannot see.
Do not fear everything you cannot see.
Listen.
Watch.
Dream.
The darkness is not empty.
The lion walks there.
The ancestors walk there.
And sometimes your own spirit walks there before your body knows the way.
Sixth—Remember the Story.
What we know was given to us.
What you learn must not die with you.
Tell the child.
Tell the child of the fire.
Tell the child of the animals.
Tell the child of the winter when the people almost did not return.
Tell them who we were.
A people without memory is a people lost in the forest.
Seventh—Remember Who You Are.
You are the child.
You are the hunter.
You are the mother.
You are the old one who has not yet been born.
You are human.
But inside you there is something older.
Something that watches.
Something that dreams.
Something that knows the language of claw and tooth, moon and shadow, birth and death.
Do not forget it.
Seven marks.
Seven teachings.
Seven breaths before the child rises.
And the mother touches each mark with her finger.
One—
Fire.
Two—
Earth.
Three—
Animal.
Four—
People.
Five—
Night.
Six—
Story.
Seven—
Self.
Then she places her hand upon the child's heart.
And says:
Carry these.
Carry them when the winter comes.
Carry them when the fire is low.
Carry them when you are afraid.
Carry them when I am gone.
For one day you will stand where I stand.
And a child will sit before you.
And you will have only your hands,
your voice,
your memory,
and seven things worth remembering.
So teach them.
Mark them.
Carry them forward.
Fire. Earth. Animal. People. Night. Story. Self.
Seven marks.
One life.
Many generations.
And the lion still watches.