The best teachers have showed me that things have to be done bit by bit. Nothing that means anything happens quickly--we only think it does. The motion of drawing back a bow and sending an arrow straight into a target takes only a split second, but it is a skill many years in the making. So it is with a life, anyone's life. I may list things that might be described as my accomplishments in these few pages, but they are only shadows of the larger truth, fragments separated from the whole cycle of becoming. And if I can tell an old-time story now about a man who is walking about, waudjoset ndatlokugan, a forest lodge man, alesakamigwi udlagwedewugan, it is because I spent many years walking about myself, listening to voices that came not just from the people but from animals and trees and stones. Joseph Bruchac
About This Quote

This quote is from the book "The Master and his Emissary," written by B. H. Liddell Hart in 1930. The story is about a hunter and his messenger.

The hunter kills an elephant and brings its tusks to the chief of his tribe. The chief's son is chosen to carve the ivory into a headdress for the chief and an ear-ring for the queen, but he is warned not to tell anyone that he is doing so or he will be punished. The emissary states that if he does this with skill and humility, then he will be rewarded with more gifts than one could imagine. As he works, however, the emissary notices how much effort it takes to do what may seem like the simplest of tasks. He then begins to see that most things we do in life are not easy or simple at all; we just don't see them that way because we have been trained to think in terms of quick and easy solutions and instant gratification.

When we set out on a task, we often become discouraged when we start having trouble and fail to give ourselves time to adjust or overcome our initial difficulties. It is only when we give ourselves time to adjust and make mistakes that we really learn anything at all. This quote encourages us to overcome difficulties, not giving up until we fully understand something before moving on to the next step.

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More Quotes By Joseph Bruchac
  1. We need to walk to know sacred places, those around us and those within. We need to walk to remember the songs.
  2. The best teachers have showed me that things have to be done bit by bit. Nothing that means anything happens quickly--we only think it does. The motion of drawing back a bow and sending an arrow straight into a target takes only a split second,...
  3. Strong words outlast the paper they are written upon.
  4. Another of the hard things about being in a war, grandchildren, is that although there are times of quiet when the fighting has stopped, you know you will soon be fighting again. Those quiet times give you the chance to think about what has happened....
  5. Never think that war is a good thing, grandchildren. Though it may be necessary at times to defend our people, war is a sickness that must be cured. War is a time out of balance. When it is truly over, we must work to restore...
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