narative1

The First Awakening
April 2, 2008
Â© Copyright 2008 Steve D. Gage

Let me tell you a story of old. A long time ago, when the Mammoth and the Giant
Buffalo walked the Earth, there was a native American named TalkingThunder. Now
TalkingThunder lived in a time when life was very hard. There were no modern
convieniences. In his time, man was at the mercy of the elements of nature, every
day being a day of battle for mere survival. Injury, illness and death were a part of
every day existence for the people of this time.

Now TalkingThunder had been very fortunate, for he had grown to full adulthood.
One day, while hunting for food, he found himself at the edge of a great cliff. In
front of him, in his field of vision, lay a great expanse of mountainous forest,
extending further than his eyes could see. He stood there, in awe of this great sight.
What lay beyond this great expanse, he wondered? As he became contemplative, his
thoughts turned to the memory of all the suffering, illness and death he had witnessed
in his life. It became vivid in his mind. "At the edge of the horizon, I can see the Sun
", he thought to himself. "It does not suffer, it does not die. It stands in the sky,
looking down upon my people dieing, and it sheds no tears. It cares not."

Becoming overwhelmed, TalkingThunder fell to his knees, and began to cry. He cried
and cried in his grief there, oblivious to all reality. Indeed, he lost all track of the
passage of time. After some time, he was suddenly awakened from his grief, by a
great flash of light. As he opened his eyes, he heard a great noise in the sky. He
began to wipe the tears from his eyes, and gather himself together. Upon clearing his
eyes, he beheld himself kneeling in the midst of a puddle of water, the result of the
rainstorm that had come, which he was oblivious to in his grieving. And another great
flash of light lit up the sky, above him, and he saw in the water, a face. He saw his
reflection. "Is that me"?, he thought.....and immediately...the thunder from the
lightning strike sounded. And the sky began to clear.

As he continued to look down at the puddle, and it became light again, he saw the
setting sun, reflecting in the water. "Is that the Sun"?, he thought. He then raised his
head to see it setting in the west, behind a great rainbow.

And something had changed in him. In his perception it was not different than
himself. In awakening, he beheld the truth. In astonishment, excitement and new
comprehension, he arose to his feet, and exclaimed, "I am Talking Thunder,
remember my name"!

And the tale is still told to this day, that when you hear thunder, the Sun is speaking
his name. And when you see a rainbow, it is the frown of the Sun's sorrow, in
recognition of mankind.

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