Many centuries ago, there was an old Native American who was called Dancing Bear, who belonged to a tribe now known as the Sioux. He had lived a life with much enjoyment of the little things, and as the years passed he began to feel pulled to go to a tall mountain that his tribe would pass by in their travels once a year. He found himself wondering what it would be like to climb to the top of that snow-capped mountain, and to be so very close to the golden sun, the vast sky and the moon.
And so the next time his tribe traveled by the mountain, he told his family that he was going on a vision quest. When asked if they would be physically seeing him again, he said probably not -- that he felt ready to enter the spirit world, and they were accepting and respectful of it.
And so he left on a cloudless morning when the sun had just peeked over the horizon, enjoying the solitude and the beauty of nature all around him. Sometimes he chanted softly, or said a prayer, or stopped to look at something.
That evening he came to the base of the mountain where he found a cluster of tall oak trees, and he sat below one as the stars shimmered overhead... and after enjoying the sights and sounds and smells of nighttime for a while, he quickly went to sleep.
He dreamed of the sun and the moon becoming one.
The next morning as the sun bathed him he started the arduous journey uphill, feeling the air get cooler and cooler, and was glad that he had wore his furs. Then he reached where the snow began, and the wind became extremely chilly. Though he began feeling very tired he was determined to reach the top, and so on and on he went.
Finally he walked up a knee-deep snow-drift that was near the crest, when he stumbled, and rolled down the steep slope for quite some distance. When he finally reached the bottom where the slope evened off his body ached, he had snow down his furs, and could no longer feel his fingers or feet due to the numbing cold.
As he sat there catching his breath he watched two large wolves emerge from a nearby group of trees and cautiously approach him. His heart leaped and his instincts screamed at him to run, but instead he laughed and said, "So are you two the ones who are to deliver me to the spirit world? I am ready." And as he smiled and laughed the wolves sensed his lack of fear, and the friendly sound in his voice, and though they were very hungry and didn't completely understand why, they sensed that he was a friend. And so they walked close to him sniffing and then rubbed up against him, letting him pet their fur that had never before been petted by human hands. And again he laughed, as the sun overhead grew brighter and brighter until it was all-consuming.
)