Spiritual Journey

This evening I was re-reading the story of "Jumping Mouse" a Cheyenne teaching story which I identify strongly with. In the story Jumping Mouse goes on a quest to be in the sacred mountains and reach the sacred lake. During his quest he encounters several entities that tell him he is insane to continue and he travels past several temptations to stop. Jumping Mouse is lost and scared much of the time and gets encouragement and guidance from several other animals along his path. He also makes sacrifices along the way but ultimately triumphs by becoming an eagle. And as the Neal Diamond song says "except for the names and a few other changes, my stories the same one". Right now I am feeling lost and listening for guidance while moving forward — such is a spiritual journey.