Braiding Sweetgrass

receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart. My job was just
to lead them into the presence and ready them to hear. On that
smoky afternoon, the mountains taught the students and the
students taught the teacher.
As I drove home that night, the students slept or studied by
dimming flashlight. That Sunday afternoon changed forever my way
of teaching. A teacher comes, they say, when you are ready. And if
you ignore its presence, it will speak to you more loudly. But you
have to be quiet to hear.