First of all, I would like to wish everybody a “Happy New Year.” It is amazing that some of us are still here, but it is also a blessing. There are things we have done and experienced in our lives that other people wouldn’t have made it through, so it is a blessing. It is a blessing to see another day, another week, another month and another year, and it is a blessing to see another year coming in and an older one going away.
A quote I heard a while back said, “Maybe I’m not where I want to be, but, at least, I’m not where I used to be.” In our lives and throughout our walk, we stumble, trip and fall. Sometimes, we get lost, go down the wrong road, follow other people and try to take short cuts, but, for some reason, most of us find our way back to the road or path designed or constructed specifically for us.
On the road we walk, there are signs along the way to warn us or to tell us what is ahead, but a lot of times, we are so busy, and in a rush that we don’t pay attention to what the signs are telling us. There are signs that say, “Dead End,” “Construction,” “Slow Down,” “Turn now!” But too many times, we think we know what we are doing and where we are going.
A lot of people are walking without direction. We know where we want to go, but for a lot of us, we don’t know how to get there. We follow other people, and we think their road is going to get us to where we want to go. We get distracted, and we get lost. We try to take short cuts and follow roads, but we don’t know where they lead. Sometimes, we get further and further away from where we are supposed to be going. Other times, we get stuck following other people or get stuck on a road that doesn’t lead us anywhere.
Not too many years ago, we heard or saw the news about the California family who got stuck in the snow in the mountains in Oregon while on their vacation. It was a sad story because the dad started to walk for help but did not make it. While he was sacrificing his own life for the life of his family, his family was found and rescued. Along the way, I am sure there were physical signs (“Road Closed,” “Chains Advised Beyond this Point,” “Snow Ahead”) as well as natural signs (snow, no tracks, no vehicles) on the road they were headed down, but sometimes, because we get so caught up in where we are going or what we are doing, we, just like the family from California, don’t notice or pay attention to the signs around us.
There are also many of us who know who we are, what we are doing, where we are going and how to get there, but we are off track. We are missing the mark and are misaligned. We are going in the right direction and doing a lot of the right things, but we are a little off. We are going through things and doing things we really don’t have to be doing or going through, but since we are just off the mark or misaligned, it is a little harder. It takes a little more effort and a little more time. All we have to do is get in alignment, readjust ourselves and get on the right road, and we will be all right.
I’m not saying that it will not take effort or you will not have to put in the time, but the path or road is a little easier when you are aligned. It is going to take you somewhere, and if we stay on the right road, it is going to take us where we want to go.
One thing we have to remember is all roads have hills and turns. There are going to be signs along the way that warn us or give us direction. There are going to be places along the way to rest, sleep, eat and refuel. Everything cannot be done or completed in one day, especially when we are going where the Creator, Lord or Great Spirit wants us to go.
We weren’t created to wonder, to be stagnant or stay where we are. He (the Creator, Lord or Great Spirit) gave us dreams and visions along the way to show us things He wanted us to do and places He wanted us to go. He created us to go forward and not backwards. He wanted to show us things the way they can be and not the way they are, but it is our responsibility to get where He wants us to go. Richard L. Evans once said, “Don’t let life discourage you. Everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.”
So we are blessed to be here another year and to see another day. Maybe, we aren’t on the road we are supposed to be on or going in the right direction, but it isn’t too late. We are still here. We still have a chance. He still has a purpose and a plan for us. For the New Year that awaits us, you better be ready. We are picking ourselves up and brushing ourselves off. We are going to walk with our chins up and our shoulders back, and we are going forward. We are going to get back on that road and follow where ever it leads us. God Bless!
Editor's Note: Solo Greene is an enrolled Nez Perce tribal member. His work has appeared in a variety of publications on and off the reservation in Idaho where he and his family live. We are grateful to have Solo contributing works to CC, and we look forward to his future articles.