"Break the stick," he instructs them

With some effort, they all snap their sticks in half
"This is how it is when a soul is alone without anyone
They can be easily broken."

The old man next gives each of his kin another stick, and says,
"Put your sticks together in bundles of two's and three's"

"Now, break these bundles in half"

No one can break the sticks
when there are two or more in a bundle

"This is how I would like you to live after I pass on"

The old man smiles

"We are strong when we stand with another soul
When we are with another, we cannot be broken."

Women Who Run With the Wolves,

( Thank you Morning Star for sharing this with me )

Unity... the Unity of the Soul...
Alone we can be broken by Life's demands

Together we are unbeatable...
This is the Way of the Circle, This is the Way of the Soul

So how doe's one Gain this Unity ?

The Ways are many.... most of them very simple

You can gather in body... meaning in person

You can gather on the Astral or in Meditation

You can communicate Via Telephone, Mail letters,
Email, Chat rooms, Message boards,

You can gather in a circle and share yourself
along with the Power of the Way

The Ways to Join are Endless

But

We tend to live our lives in pockets of isolation

Hence we often alone .. in more ways than one

This should not be ... because

When we need a moment to rest
where do we find comfort ?

When we need to Vent some steam..
where do we go ?

When we are hard pressed by life ...
who can we rely on ?

All of these things and more
are the reason behind the warp and weft
of the weave we need to make .... to form unions
with Friends, Family, Lovers and associates

Ever try to pull a finger cuff apart once it's on your hands ?

It's a tricky little woven device that you can easily
put your fingers into but not remove them ...
as the harder you pull, the tighter the weave gets
and the stronger the hold on your hand

This is how the Power of unity works
the strands that make up the weave
by themselves are easily broken
like one bit of twine

However, if you braid that twine into a rope
you can connect anything :)

This is the power
At your finger tips on the Keys under your hands

This is the Power
At the very edge of your lips to speak to a fellow man

All it takes is the will to work together

To allow the barriers of suspicion and fear to drop
and allow yourself to become part of a whole
that is greater than you own strength alone

To lose the self imposed barriers
of Race, Gender, Religion et al ... Placed there by Fear

As that is what stops most of us ... Fear... Fear of rejection
Fear of betrayal ... The time has come to let go of Fear

And become a strong people again ... yes I say again..
we were a tribe once when the world was smaller
and as such couldn't be broken

While individuals May have been lost
during the passage of time ... the whole remained
else we would not be here now

Such we must be again .. in the Circle and in our personal lives
So that never Will the threads be broken