This is a longer one, but is still very neat.
It was quite a long journey, lasted about two hours, and it is so neat.  I had no idea where this was going but really learned a level of trust with gathering this story because I simply had to wait and listen and type.  By the time I finished, I was so glad I trusted because otherwise the ending never would have become apparent.
I take from this experience the UTMOST IMPORTANCE of not anticipating the future or how the story is going or, oh shit is this coming from the teacher or is it coming from me?
I felt a level of me and the Storyteller working in concert in telling of this story, He wove the story around my creativity, some aspects in the story were ideas from me, like to have three eggs and to choose their color, he took these ideas from my brain as I was thinking about eggs, he alsi took the Raven character from a creation myth I had just read about how the Raven became black.  But the bulk of the story, the theme and the lesson, the order, the outcome, and just about absolutely everything else, came from him.
I feel this is very important to share and very important to help peers value and learn from the lessons I have experienced.
Please, please, PLEASE!!!  I do know this is long, but please read carefully.  I really like this one…  Really I do.
And here you go!-
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Please share with me a story about my home tribe, Snow Leopard, as I would like to return to them.
Story Teller Snow Leopard comes forth.  I shall not yet know his name.
Raven and Snow Leopard
Black Raven was once white.  A long time ago, He stole the sun and paid dearly for it.  He is black on the outside but pure white on the inside.  Raven brought three eggs to his friend Snow Loepard one day.  Raven said, “I have three eggs, and they all have different purposes.”
Snow Leopard, curious about these eggs because they looked so tasty said, “Really? And what are those?”
Raven said, “This one-” holding up a white egg, “is to cleanse and purify the world.  But if it breaks too soon, it will do more harm than good, so you can’t eat it.”
Chagrined at being found out, Snow Leopard growled, “Fine, well, what about that one?” pointing to the second egg, a black one.
Raven, said, “Oh that one is to darken all light colored things and hide them from Man’s eyes, so they only look like shadows.”
Snow Leopard liked the possibilities of that one, thinking he could get some tasty meals of Man that way. If Man could not see him, he could easily feed for many years quite happily.
Raven saw the savory look Snow Leopard developed and guessed his thoughts, “But, Snow Leopard, you cannot break this one too soon either.  It won’t work until it is ready to hatch!”
Snow Leopard sighed, starting to get frustrated with Raven making so much demand of his time, and said, “Fine, just tell me about the last one.”
Raven turned to the last, an indigo blue one, and looked on it lovingly.  “Yes, the Blue one.  This blue egg, when it hatches, will cover the world and protect it from all eternity, where nothing will ever change again, and we will always be the same.”
Snow Leopard asked “How boring that would be.  What will happen if I destroy it?  Because I think that would be boring.”
Raven said, “Nothing”
Snow Leopard said, “Nothing?”
Raven said, “Nope.  Nothing.  It will do nothing if it’s broken too early.”
Snow Leopard huffed at the silliness of it all.  “So, you tell me these horrible things will happen if I break the other two and nothing will happen if I break the third.”
Raven said, “That’s right.  Nothing.  The egg can’t do what it’s supposed to, if you decide to break it.”
Snow Leopard growled and swiped at Raven who quickly fluttered up and away out of danger.  “Leave me be with these eggs, and let me think.”
Raven said, “Okay, but take good care of them and make sure they are safe.”
Snow Leopard sneered and said, ” Oh, don’t worry, Raven.  I will.”  His smirk told Raven that he would only serve his own purposes with the eggs.  Raven, having learned his lessons of trickery in the past, left Leopard to learn some lessons of his own.
Leopard looked to the white egg first.  Remembering Raven’s original color and the trickery that made him black, Leopard set the white egg aside.  He wasn’t sure what he thought about that.  So he waited.
He turned next to the black egg.  He liked the idea of being a shadow, but he was unsure if he could wait long enough for it to hatch.  He again couldn’t decide what to do, so he turned finally to the third egg.  He did not like the idea of things always staying the same, because he enjoyed the change of the seasons, the growth of Leopard families, the movement of wandering tribes of men.  He loved the turnings of the moon, the dark nights as well as the bright ones.  The cloudy days as well as the sunny days.  The migrations of various food sources.
He decided that if nothing was going to happen to him, he would break the blue egg, and find out what was inside.  He took the egg, and set it before him.  Determined that it was a choice he must make for the good of all the world, he smashed the egg with his paw.  Yoke covered his face as it splashed up.  He licked it off and waited for the trickery of the Raven to prove his stupidity.
Nothing happened.
Snow Leopard still waited, and when nothing continued to happen, he smiled, thinking he got away with something and feeling very proud of himself for saving the whole world from endless, unchanging time.
Raven came back, shaking his head.
“Oh, Snow Leopard.  How could you…”
Snow Leopard said, “What?  How could I what?”
Raven said, “You broke the blue egg.”
With the bits of indigo shell stuck to his paw and face, Snow Leopard could barely deny it.  He snorted and said, “You said nothing would happen if I did break it.  I decided I wanted to see what was inside, and I also didn’t want things to stay the same.”
“But Leopard…” Raven said, “How do you know what would have stayed the same?”
Snow Leopard said, “What are you saying?”
Raven sighed, and explained, “Leopard, you do not know exactly what would have been the same.  The egg would have saved the Earth from attacks from the Universe, meteors changing the Earth so much that she would have been destroyed.  The egg would save the World from Global Warming, maintaining the perfect balance to sustain life.  The egg would have helped Man and Nature maintain a balance of renewal, providing for all Beings’ needs for survival.”
Snow Leopard picked his jaw up off the ground and realized his head had been in the wrong place.
Raven said, “Now you must live with having made the decision for all of the animals in the world.”  Raven sadly slipped away, and left Snow Leopard in his space.
Snow Leopard pondered Raven’s words for some time.  He looked at the white egg.  Then at the black egg.  He said to himself, “well, at least I have two more chances.  I’ll wait for the white egg to mature, and that will absolve me of this guilt.”  His blind acceptance of his position settled his heart and he sat and waited.
After many weeks, the egg matured.  It started a small crack at the top and eventually opened.  A small white bird emerged, looking a lot like a White Raven.  The bird approached the Snow Leopard and looked sideways at him.  Snow Leopard, who had been waiting for some time smiled when he saw the white bird.  Thinking he was now home free, Snow Leopard said proudly, “Oh good, now you can absolve me of my pride.”
White Raven said, “Your pride?  I can absolve you of your pride?”
Snow Leopard nodded, “Yes, you are supposed to cleanse and purify the world.”
White Raven said, “Yes, I can do that.  But you are not of the world.”
Snow Leopard cocked his head. “What do you mean, not of the world?  I am! Look at me!  I am right here in the world!  I’ve been waiting for you sitting here on this stupid rock, and this rock is definitely in the World.!”  He was a little agitated after waiting so long to be told he was shit out of luck.  It had been a long, wet and hungry couple of weeks after all!
White Raven said, “You see yourself above the world.  You see yourself as a God, who can make decisions that affect everyone else.  You have placed yourself beyond this world and have failed to accept it and your self for who you are.  I am sorry but I cannot purify you.”  The White Raven flew away and began his mission of purifying Beings in the World.
Snow Leopard held his head in his paws.  He spoke quietly to himself. “I see now.  I understand.  My pride fed my need to control my world when I had no right to make that choice for everyone else in the world.  My failure to accept and admit to my hubris led me to deny the importance of playing my fair role in my world, made me remove myself from it, thinking I was higher when, really, I had dropped lower.”
Snow Leopard felt the pang of hunger and the heard the calling of an instinct.  He had a choice to make.  He could dwell in his mistake, or he could accept what had happened and move on.  He carefully stored the black egg in a safe place and left the area to contemplate his situation for a few hours.
With little delay, he chose to continue his life as he had before.  He resumed normal hunting activities.  He culled the sick from the herds, he stalked small rodents among the snow and rocks.  He wore down dying trees and helped them fall as he sharpened his claws on their skins.  He lived with the guilt he had heaped onto his shoulders, but he did so with acceptance and dignity.
Finally one day, he returned to the place where he had stored the black egg.  He knew where it was and he felt the call as an instinct of his, instead of stopping his living to sit by it.  He had trusted his senses.
Snow Leopard pulled the black egg out.  He watched it begin to crack.  One edge, then another, and then a large crack down the middle.  A black bird emerged that looked a lot like his friend Raven.
The bird approached him as he waited quietly off to the side.  They looked at each other.
Snow Leopard said, “Shadow Bird, welcome to the world.”
Shadow Bird said, “I give you the gift of Shadow.”
Snow Leopard said, “Who am I to receive such a gift?”  He was surprised the bird would give it to him. After the lessons he had learned, he felt he had not earned such a gift.
Shadow Bird said, “You are a member of this World.  You bring your gifts to it.  You do an important job and fulfill important needs.”
“But I have been so prideful in the past.  I raised myself above others, I made choices when I had no right to.”
“But you chose to return to your true path.  You did this with dignity and released your pride.  Because this is the hardest thing for any Being to do, you have proven your deep and true inner strength.  You will go in shadow now, you will transform and become something more.  You cannot imagine where your path will take you, but because you have learned to live in the present and from now on, will not anticipate the future or worry about the past, you now have the reward of being hidden in shadow.”
Snow Leopard silently nodded his gratitude and smiled warmly.
Shadow Bird bestowed his gift upon Snow Leopard.  Accepting his new role quietly, Snow Leopard gracefully left the place.  He returned to the world, and ever since, he and his ancestors have been disappearing into shadow.
Today, they are difficult to find and are few in number.  Yet they inspire and excite us.  They are mysterious and hide easily from view.  In captivity, they puzzle us and intrigue us.  They prove their depth and personality when we see them in zoos, and encourage expeditions of Love and Compassion when researchers study and photograph them in the wild.
Snow Leopard dissolves into shadow.  He drops in population on Earth, but will always remain in NOR.  Journeyers, shamans, spiritual beings of all walks, find inspiration and Soul-Energy when coming in contact with Snow Leopard.  We are at an exact point in time when Snow Leopard is still powerful as a physical Being but is most of the way through his transformation into Spirit alone.  He has been, is now, and will always be deeply valued for his beauty, his mystery, and his soul-deep power and strength.
Thus did Snow Leopard come to where he is right now this day,
Feb. 11, 2009
-Tribe of Snow Leopard.