06/07/2026
( I have been in a bit of a writing slump lately
Maybe that happens to all of us in one way or another
Not just with writing, but with life
There are seasons when the words come easily and the path ahead feels clear. Then there are seasons when the mind feels tired, the heart feels heavy, and even the things we love require more effort than they once did
Life has a way of throwing unexpected things at us Disappointment Loss Misunderstandings
Responsibilities
Grief
Worry
Sometimes all at once
And if we’re not careful, those things can convince us to stop moving forward
But one lesson I continue to learn, and relearn, is that progress is not always measured by how fast we move. Sometimes it is measured simply by refusing to quit
By getting up one more day
By taking one more step
By believing that better days still lie ahead even when we cannot yet see them
Our people have survived because they understood this truth. They endured difficult winters, uncertain times, and hardships that would have broken many others. Yet they kept going
Not because the journey was easy
Because they understood the value of perseverance
So today, after a period of quiet reflection, I found myself writing again and thinking about one of the teachings our old people understood better than most
As our old people understood, no one was ever meant to carry the journey alone.)
Long before highways crossed these mountains, before there were fences, radios, or cell phones, our people traveled by foot through forests much like the ones that surround us today
A person could not simply decide to leave camp and disappear into the wilderness alone
The mountains were too vast
The winters too cold
The rivers too unpredictable
Even the strongest hunter understood there would come a day when an ankle would turn, a storm would arrive without warning, or darkness would settle across the land before the journey home was complete
So our people traveled together
Not because they were weak
Because they were wise
An elder carried knowledge
A young man carried strength
A woman carried provisions
A child carried hope
Each person brought something the others needed
And because they traveled together, more people arrived home
That lesson was never really about travel
It was about life
Today, many people have convinced themselves they must carry everything alone
The grief alone
The uncertainty alone
The responsibility alone
The heartache alone
The worries that keep them awake long after everyone else has gone to sleep
Yet our ancestors would likely shake their heads at such thinking
They knew better
They knew that human beings were never designed to carry every burden by themselves
That is why families gathered when hardship came
That is why communities shared what they had
That is why elders offered wisdom and younger people offered strength
Our people understood something modern life often forgets
Strength was never meant to stand alone
The strongest warrior still needed his people
The wisest elder still needed someone to carry forward what had been taught
The hardest worker still needed rest
And even the bravest among us sometimes needed encouragement
Perhaps that is why the Creator placed us in families, clans, communities, and nations
Not so we could prove how much we can carry by ourselves
But so we could learn how to carry life together
This Sunday, there are people among us carrying burdens we cannot see
There is a widow setting an extra place in her memory
A firefighter’s family watching smoke gather on the horizon
An elder remembering voices that have gone quiet
A parent carrying worries they rarely speak aloud
A young person trying to find their place in a changing world
And there are many who wake each morning, put on a brave face, and continue carrying responsibilities no one else fully understands
Our old people knew these people existed
That is why they taught patience
That is why they taught humility
That is why they taught us not to judge too quickly, because every person is fighting a battle known fully only to the Creator
They understood that life is not measured by how little we need others, but by how faithfully we carry our responsibilities to one another
Not every burden can be removed
Not every sorrow can be fixed
Not every road can be shortened
But a people become stronger when they remember they are walking the same earth, breathing the same air, and depending upon one another more than they realize
The older I get, the more I believe this was one of the great teachings our ancestors left behind
No one was ever meant to carry the journey alone
Not because someone else could walk it for them
But because the journey itself was always meant to be shared
And perhaps that is what makes a people endure
Not wealth
Not power
Not even strength
But the quiet understanding that when one person stumbles, the community remembers them. When one person grieves, the community carries their name. When one person grows weary, the community carries the memory of why the journey matters
That is how nations survive
That is how families endure
That is how a people remain a people
And on this Sunday, that old teaching still feels true
As our old people understood, no one was ever meant to carry the journey alone.
