Time

Time.
There is a story. The Native Americans had a tradition. When someone was bit by a poison snake, they started applying medicine and treating it but they also called for someone who had survived the same kind of bite. The survivor would sit beside the person in pain and tell them “this will pass”.
Who else could tell you “this will pass” when you are writhing in pain? Who would you listen to? The survivor is sitting there beside you. You can see the scar on their leg where they were bit. If you can see outside of your own pain for a moment, you can see that the survivor is reliving his pain. You can also see that he is only reliving a memory. It is in the past. He is alive. He knows this will pass.
Time is a tricky beast. When you are the one writhing in pain, the minutes stretch into unbearable eternity. Seconds burn through your veins. Trying to see beyond the next minute requires more strength than moving a mountain. On the other side of the pain, time is easier. You don’t feel each second. You reach down and feel the smooth skin that formed the scar. The memory is close but in time, as measured by the calendar, the event is years in the past.
There is another story about Native Americans and snakes. I tell it to my girls often. There was a young girl walking through the forest on a cold winter day. A snake slid out in front of her and called “little girl help me. I’m about to die from the cold.” She looks skeptical and says “But you’re a snake”. He says “Trust me. I won’t bite you. Hold me”. She, being kind, picks him up. They walk a little way and he says “Little girl, put me next to your breast. The cold is killing me.” She says “But you’re a snake. You will bite me and I will die.” He says “I have not bitten you yet. You can trust me. I don’t want to die”. So she puts him against her chest under her dress. He rests there against her heart and warms up. They walk a little while further. Then, he bites her. She screams and falls to the ground. She says “You said you wouldn’t bite me. I took care of you.” He looks at her as he crawls away. He says “I’m a snake.”
So in time, she learns that snakes are snakes. It hurts to be bitten. If you survive, then it is your duty to walk with others. Some journeys are easier than others. All journeys though begin and end in time.