The Good Red Road

I was sitting in my sunroom and staring out the window at the snow-covered trees and grey sky, thinking about a children’s book I would like to write about ancestors. On the table next to me were several spiritual and self-empowerment books. Closing my eyes, I decided to be guided by chance as my hand searched blindly for an idea. When I opened my eyes, I was staring at Medicine Cards, The Discovery Of Power Through The Ways Of Animals, by Jamie Sams and David Carson. With anticipation, I once again closed my eyes and allowed fate to open the page I was meant to read.

Before me was a drawing of a bat, the creature of Rebirth. Was there a message for me in the story of the Sacred Bat, the journey of the soul? With a tingle of excitement, I learned that the bat was a treasured medicine of the Aztec, Toltec, Tolucan, and Mayan peoples. They believed that Bat signals the rebirth of some part of yourself or the death of old patterns. Interesting, but how would that help me? As I was about to put the book down, I found myself drawn to the last paragraph. 

“If you are concerned with today and tomorrow but not much further, you may forget to see further down the road. Tribal teachings say that you are responsible for future generations because you are the ancestors of the future. Whatever you do today will affect the next seven generations. Every decision, every thought, is to create a state of stagnation or rebirth for those who follow you on the Good Red Road. If you are blocking yourself, you may be blocking the generations to come.”

The Good Red Road. What did that mean? I had heard it before. With my cell phone, I looked it up. “The Good Red Road” refers to the traditional path of life, spirituality, and recovery in many Native American cultures, emphasizing a path of balance, respect, and harmonious living with the Creator and the universe.”

A gentle wind moved the branches of the blue spruce beneath my window. They were one with nature in a harmonious dance of their own. My desire to write a children’s story about ancestors had suddenly taken on a greater meaning to me now. We all have a responsibility to leave behind the best of who we are to our grandchildren and the other generations to come. They can learn from our achievements and mistakes. What a beautiful gift to pass on.