My grandfather was an old man when I was a child, and I remember the stories he used to tell me. He would speak to children from all walks of life. Some he grew very fond of; some only grew up offering great disappointment. I remember the story of a young boy who came to him and asked, "What is life, Grandfather?"

With a smile on his face, he would raise his hands and say, "What is life? Life is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow that dances across the grass and loses itself in the sunset."

"I don't understand," the young boy looked up at him.

Grandfather said softly, "For you to know life, you must speak to the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit answers to all who seek the medicine. Look with your eyes. Hear the wind with your ears. Touch the earth with your heart. And you will know. Go my child and ask the Great Spirit to show you the way."

So the child went off toward the river and sat for a very long time.