Freedom Lesson from the Medicine Man

By Michael Brent Haynes

This story is about freedom: the freedom of choice, the freedom to learn, and the freedom to dream. The backdrop of the story is Ojibway mythology with a touch of Zen philosophy thrown in for good measure. The characters are fictitious. The concept is not. This is simply a story of a meeting between a young man and a First Nations medicine man. It is not meant to be anything but (hopefully) entertaining. The idea that the story could ever be remotely true is far fetched, however it is hoped that the ideas presented will be enjoyed and freely interpreted.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781300072751

Book preview

Freedom Lesson from the Medicine Man

It isn’t a matter of passing or failing. It is a matter of learning.

No man begins to be until he has seen his vision

When you look into the inner world you see the reflection of the outer world.

Freedom Lesson from the Medicine Man

By Michael Brent Haynes

ISBN #: 978-1-300-07275-1

Copyright 2012

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Introduction

This story is about freedom: the freedom of choice, the freedom to learn, and the freedom to dream. The backdrop of the story is Ojibway mythology with a touch of Zen philosophy thrown in for good measure. The characters are fictitious. The concept is not. This is simply a story of a meeting between a young man and a First Nations medicine man. It is not meant to be anything but (hopefully) entertaining. The idea that the story could ever be remotely true is far fetched, however it is hoped that the ideas presented will be enjoyed and freely interpreted.

Chapter One

A Place of Peace

The bus driver said, Sorry, Folks! We’ll be at least two hours. He was pulling the bus over to change mufflers. We were in the midst of a cross-country bus ride and it seemed we would be in this town called Freedom for a couple of hours.

Two hours in a seventy-five hour bus ride is nothing, I thought. I’ll grab something to eat, have a couple of beers with the locals and then we’ll be back on the road. Wrong. That two hours turned into what now seems like two lifetimes to me. I’m a changed man now, all because that bus had to change mufflers in Freedom.

It seems I spent three years living in a shack on the outskirts of Freedom. I lost my watch after a while and didn’t have a calendar, so I could only count the years by the changing seasons. I thought I had seen three springs, I knew I had two decent crops so I assumed it was about three years. Still, I wasn’t too sure.

I did know, however, that when it was time to go I would miss my garden and my view of the Northern Lights. More than these, I would miss my friend and teacher, Mattawa.

The day the bus stopped in Freedom was the day I met Mattawa, an Ojibway whom I sat down next to on a bench at the bus station. I had seen him on the bench from the window in the draft room at the local hotel and he looked so peaceful. I was having a drink with a couple of townsfolk and I commented to them about the old man on the bench.

They told me he was a medicine man who lived in a shack at the outskirts of town. They said he showed up periodically and would sit on the bench for hours at a time. Sometimes he would chant, sometimes he would sleep, and sometimes he would talk to what they referred to as his imaginary friend. That day, he was just sitting there so peacefully. 

I remember thinking that I had better get back to the bus but for some reason when I walked by the old man on the bench I couldn’t help myself and sat down next to him. I wasn’t sure if he was sleeping because his eyes were closed but he was quietly humming. As soon as I sat down, I felt tremendous peace.

The old man spoke very quietly and said something I couldn’t understand. He opened his eyes very slowly, turned towards me and spoke louder, quite deliberately, and said, "If you sit here and feel the peace for very long