That is a centuries old maxim Native Americans teach. It is a wise saying that cautions the powerful to be careful in the use of their power.
When I was growing up, I was often puzzled as to how we use our everyday lives. We never discuss our lives and yet do not in many occasions even question what is right or wrong, or even whether we ever did all that we had done.
In the myths of the Native American people this dilemma has found a powerful myth. It tells about how society uses strength and power.
The myth comes from a time when the white man had crossed into the United States. It is a period in the 1800s. You encounter the view that great powers were now coming into a world that was fragile and sacred. The story helps us see how Native American wisdom tried to cope with what they saw as an abuse of power.
The story is about one poor beggar who asked for help. One day he went to a rich and very powerful man. He stood before the man and said, “Please sir, help me.”
The rich man ignored the poor man. He had seen him the day before. He said the poor man never tried to improve his situation and that therefore he did not deserve help.
So the rich man said to the poor man, “All right. I will help you if you pass one of our tests. Put this branch down. I could do the same with you.”
Wait, said the poor man. Now put that branch back on the tree. The rich replied “It is nature! I cannot do it. That is something I cannot do.”
The Native American view cautions us never to use our power to hurt.
“Chief,” the poor man said. You have power to destroy, but you have no power to put things right.”
The story tells us of the powerful, who can destroy. On the other hand, the immortal force, what is right, is far beyond them. The story shows how society believes in those powers. A power that needs self-restraint. It believes, as I believe, that power needs boundaries, responsibility, reflection, and soul searching. When you have power, don’t destroy. Build. Create. Recreate. Bless others.
Prof. Raymond S. Mosha
(255) 787 407 881, rmosha@spu.ac.tz
