If I am being honest with myself, the signs were obvious. I chose to deny them. Believing the relationship was strong, this was reinforced when friends and family would often comment how solid our bond was. There were times when we seemed inseparable. An allegiance welded together and nurtured from when we first met many years ago.
Luther Standing Bear was an Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Chief who, among a few rare others such as Charles Eastman, Black Elk and Gertrude Bonnin occupied the rift between the way of life of the Indigenous people of the Great Plains before, and during, the arrival and subsequent spread of the European pioneers.
I am sure many of you will be familiar with this quote. I heard it many years ago myself, but every day I get a deeper understanding of. It may seem like a simple play on words and yet when put into practice has unmeasurable power. “We can’t give away what we don’t have”.