Straight from the Heart

Written and Illustrated by Crooked Arrow

Straight From the Heart
The story of Karua
By
Crooked Arrow
2011 Arizona
About the Author:
ow !et me "ro"er!y introdu#e myse!f$ %y name gi&en to me 'y my great grandfather is Crooked
Arrow$ ( am mi)ed '!ood with the '!ood of a!! * ra#es of humankind$ ( grew u" in +hi!ade!"hia,
+ennsy!&ania and s"ent most of my younger years with my great grandfather, and my grandmother and
grandfather$ -hen they "assed away ( s"ent a !ot of summers in ew .ersey with aunts and !ots of
#ousins$ Those who knew me growing u" knew ( !o&ed to 'e around the e!der!y and !isten to a!! the o!d
ways$
( grew u" during a time of great re#ession so many fami!ies made do with what was around us$ That
meant ( !earned to eat a !ot of wi!d things 'e#ause we 'asi#a!!y ate a!most e&erything that grew in our
yards and e&en in the near 'y "arks$ /ou didn0t go to the do#tors un!ess you were a!most dieing or you
had a 'roken 'one or your tonsi!s swe!!ed u" so 'ad that you a!most #ou!dn0t 'reathe$ So most of your
do#toring in those days was done 'y your "arent or e&en your neigh'or if they saw you get hurt$
1&en as a sma!! #hi!d ( !o&ed he!"ing "eo"!e 'e#ause that was the kind of neigh'orhood ( grew u" in$
+eo"!e he!"ed ea#h other out of the goodness of their hearts$ They didn0t #are what #o!or or ra#e or
re!igion you were$ The entire neigh'orhood was one 'ig fami!y and ( #a!!ed a!! the e!ders either aunt or
un#!e and the &ery o!d were gi&en the tit!e of grandmother or "o" with their !ast name added to it$ (
s"ent most of my adu!t !ife trying to do the same 'e#ause it 2ust fe!t good to he!" others$ ( am now
wife, mother and grandmother of three grown grand#hi!dren and one 2ust 'e#oming a teenager this
month$ ( on!y ha&e the two #hi!dren who ha&e gone through a!! kinds of he!! in !ife 'ut sti!! remain
!o&ing gi&ing indi&idua!s$ %y daughter started her own 3Caring eigh'or3 "rogram in 2000 and e&ery
year she he!"s !ow in#ome fami!ies get food, #!othing and sometime furniture$ She e&en he!"s get toys
for kids at #hristmas and things for the home!ess$ %y son, for years has he!"ed many e!der!y "eo"!e
with sma!! re"airs they #ou!dn0t do to he!" them sa&e money$ He and his wife ha&e a!so he!"ed me for
years hand out sandwi#hes and '!ankets to the home!ess at Christmas time and e&en sometimes 'uying
!arge amounts of s#hoo! su""!ies to send to the 4akota and %ohawk reser&ations$
( am a traditiona! tri'a! medi#ine woman who was groomed at age 2 to take my great grandfathers
"!a#e as the fami!y medi#ine "erson$ ( started out in Co!!ege to 'e a Bio!ogist 'ut as ( wat#hed the
#hanges in food and "eo"!es hea!th ( "ushed forward and got a %aster0s degree in Her'o!ogy and a
+h$5$ in natura! nutrition a!ong with many #ertifi#ates in massage thera"ies, "o!arity thera"y, aroma
thera"y and e&en was a #hiro"ra#ti# assistant$ ( e&en taught many massage thera"ist 'e#ause (
de&e!o"ed a uni6ue massage that he!"ed the #o!on$ (0&e done 'ody s#ans sin#e ( was a #hi!d a!!owing
me to "i#k u" on #onditions that sometimes are not noti#ed at first 'y do#tors 'ut on#e the "erson ask
for further testing the test #onfirm what ( was a'!e to "i#k u" on$ ( ha&e 'een a s"iritua! and hea!th
#ounse! for hundreds of "eo"!e for the "ast *0 "!us years
"My Gift to Everyone in the World"
Se&era! times (0&e written a'out how im"ortant it is to #ome from the heart$ The heart though it is a
!arge mus#!e is the "um"ing organ that we asso#iate with our greatest emotion whi#h is !o&e$ Sma!!
#hi!dren show un#onditiona! !o&e to e&eryone no matter what their age, #o!or, re!igion, se) or
nationa!ity might 'e$ This is 'e#ause we a!! #ome into this wor!d fu!! of "ositi&e energy and with a
"ositi&e out !ook on !ife unti! we 'egin to !earn the negati&e side of emotions that #ause our nature to
#hange$ ot e&ery one a!!ows the negati&e side of things to kee" them down as they know it 2ust fee!s
so mu#h 'etter to #ome from the heart with un#onditiona! !o&e$ Sin#e negati&e emotions and
'eha&iora! "atterns are !earned they #an 'e un!earned, if, as indi&idua!s we desire to make that ty"e of
#hange$ For those who !i&e in a "ositi&e moment ea#h and e&ery day of their !ife, a!ways rea#hing out
a he!"ing hand to gi&e to another, know that it 2ust fee!s so "owerfu!!y wonderfu! to 'e a gi&er in !ife$
Sin#e (0&e had the "!easure to meet so many wonderfu! indi&idua!s throughout the years, (0&e de#ided
that this year ( wou!d write a story to gi&e as my s"e#ia! Christmas gift to e&eryone$ (t doesn0t matter
if you 'e!ie&e in Christmas or some other ho!iday$ Being a'!e to #ome from my heart to yours doesn0t
mean it is from a re!igion$ (t 2ust means it #omes from that s"e#ia! "!a#e dee" within my heart where
un#onditiona! !o&e for a!! of 7od0s #reatures is stored$ (f you think a'out the stories of the "ast and the
great f!ood that was re#orded in many "!a#es, the sur&i&ors were of one fami!y, the human fami!y and
s"eaking in one tongue$ Sin#e then we ha&e many !anguages around the wor!d and many re!igions and
many nationa!ities 'ut most im"ortant!y we sti!! ha&e the one fami!y that is the fami!y of the human
ra#e and if anyone disagrees with me, ( guess you are not human$ 8 smi!e9
This story is my s"e#ia! gift to e&eryone in the wor!d$ There is no way that ( #an rea#h e&ery "erson
who !i&es in the wor!d and gi&e them a #o"y of the story as my gift to them$ (nstead as ( share this
story with ea#h of you, ( ask that you "rint it out and gi&e it to others, emai! it to your friends and
together we #an 'ring it to the eyes of e&eryone in the wor!d$ 4et this 'e our 2oint ho!iday effort to get
this story to tra&e! as far as we #an$ -rite a #omment on this '!og te!!ing e&eryone 2ust how far you
were a'!e to he!" s"read this Ho!iday 2oy$ 4et us a!! see if we #an 'ring the wor!d together for one
mission this ho!iday season$ 4et this 'e the start of a #hange for our wor!d$ A #hange for the 'etter that
wi!! a!!ow e&eryone the #han#e to fee! the 2oy of 'eing "art of one great fami!y the human ra#e$
%ay ea#h of you fee! the "ositi&e energy that f!owed as ( wrote and i!!ustrated this story, for it is my
gift from the heart to your heart that ( share with you with !o&e$
!i&e, !ight, !o&e,
Crooked Arrow
ot that !ong ago in one of the o!dest zoo0s in the wor!d there was the awaited 'irth of se&era! gori!!a
'a'ies$ These 'a'ies wou!d 'e the first grou" of 'a'ies that wou!d get to grow u" in a gori!!a en#!osed
en&ironment that was #!ose to natura! as the zoo #ou!d afford to 'ui!d$ %ost other gori!!as of the time
that were 'orn in zoos !i&ed 'ehind #ages that had 'reak "roof g!ass around them$ They were &ery #o!d
unfriend!y #onditions for any anima! to sur&i&e in$
1
n the great a"e ha'itant area was 'orn se&era! 'a'y a"es and among them was a &ery tiny fema!e a"e
named Karua$ This #reature, for an a"e, seemed to 'e &ery different then the other 'a'ies$ (t was not
on!y her tiny size that made her different, 'ut her 6uiet, gent!e "ersona!ity that seemed to 2ust #at#h the
&iewers eye$
2
As a!! the !itt!e anima!s in the zoo grew, the day #ame when they were o!d enough to !ea&e their
mothers side for 'rief moments at a time to "!ay with ea#h other$ Karua ne&er &entured to far from her
mother0s side$
:
Karua0s mom was an e)treme!y "rote#ti&e gori!!a$ %ost young a"es at this tender age 'egan mo&ing
more away from their mothers as their #uriosity im"e!!ed them to e)"!ore their en&ironment whi!e they
"!ayed$
*
Karua0s didn0t want to "!ay$ (nstead she 2ust sat and o'ser&ed e&erything and e&eryone$ She #arefu!!y
studied the other anima!s in the zoo and the humans that intera#ted with them whi!e they #ared for
them$ She e&en wat#hed the humans of a!! ages that #ame to &isit the zoo and !ook at the anima!s$
;
Karua o'ser&ed that whene&er 'a'ies were 'orn in the zoo the humans fussed o&er them and #ared
dee"!y a'out their we!! 'eing$ That was one reason why they ke"t the mothers and 'a'ies away from
the "u'!i# "eering eyes unti! they were sure the young one was going to sur&i&e$
<
Karua was sti!! a &ery de!i#ate #reature who did not intera#t mu#h with the other young a"es 'e#ause
they were &ery rough with their "!ay and mu#h 'igger than she was$ So as time went 'y and she grew,
Karua sti!! s"ent most of her time o'ser&ing things and e&eryone as if she was making a menta! diary of
a!! !ife and how they intera#ted with ea#h other$
=
By the time Karua had rea#hed the age of that #om"ared to a teenager, her mother and some other adu!t
anima!s were 'eing transferred to !i&e at other zoos$ This 'rought great sadness to Karua, for she wou!d
ne&er see her mother again$
>
Karua was sti!! a &ery sma!! a"e for her age$ By now she was sti!! no 'igger than a human teenager$
Be#ause of her size the other a"es wou!d not intera#t with her$ The zoo kee"ers were afraid that the
!arger gori!!as might some day harm her 'e#ause she no !onger had her mother around to "rote#t her
from them$
?
The zoo kee"ers de#ided to mo&e Karua to her own sma!! ha'itant area$ An area where they use to "ut
si#k "regnant a"es whi!e they awaited the arri&a! of their new 'orn$ This wou!d now 'e#ome Karua0s
"ri&ate home$ The area use to ha&e "rote#ti&e g!ass around it$ They remo&ed the g!ass and "ut u" a
fen#e so that it wou!d 'e a more natura! en&ironment$
10
-ith no other #reature 'ut the zoo kee"er to intera#t with, Karua wou!d #!im' to the highest "oint of
her ha'itant and from there she wou!d #ontinue her o'ser&ation of e&erything$ Here main interest now
was tota!!y de&oted to o'ser&ing humans$
11
Karua keen!y o'ser&ed how 'oth &ery young anima!s and young humans radiated with this immense
g!ow of un#onditiona! !o&e, wi!!ing to share with ea#h other no matter who they were$ They seemed to
!o&e e&erything and e&eryone$ They did not distinguish or 2udge !ike the o!der #reatures$ +eo"!e rea#ted
different towards 'a'ies and so did the anima!s$ Their un#onditiona! !o&e seemed to 'e infe#tious$
12
hrough her #onstant o'ser&ation of humans she noti#ed that different #hanges were taking "!a#e as
humans grew o!der$ %any times this #hange had an affe#t on the other #reatures, as if an in&isi'!e si!ent
signa! went out and 2ust #hanged the mood of anima!s as they were in the area of where angry humans
were$ The more this hosti!e &i'ration went out from humans, the more &io!ent the anima!s 'e#ame as
the &i'ration seemed to irritate them$
1:
Karua0s ha'itant was designed to a!!ow her to ha&e a &iew of the entire zoo a!ong with the
neigh'orhood outside the zoo wa!!s$ Be#ause of her high ro#ky areas it was a good "!a#e to sit and 2ust
wat#h e&erything$ This was not norma! a#ti&ity for an a"e 'ut Karua was rea!!y fas#inated 'y the many
'eha&iora! #hanges she saw in humans$
1*
Karua s"ent a !ot of time o'ser&ing this one grou" of 'oys$ From her !ook out on her high #!iff she
wat#hed as : sma!! 2oyfu! 'a'ies s!ow!y de&e!o"ed$ As young #hi!dren she noti#ed that they sti!! were
#aring indi&idua!s who sti!! en2oyed he!"ing others$ Time "assed and the 'oys were now young
teenagers$ She wat#hed as they somehow !ost that wonderfu! !o&ing 6ua!ity as they 'egan to a!!ow a!!
kinds of things to inf!uen#e them$ They 'e#ame the neigh'orhood 'u!!ies with no #are for anyone or
anything$ They 'e#ame a &ery "re2udi#e !itt!e angry grou"$
1;
@ne day whi!e she sat and o'ser&ed the teenage 'u!!ies, she saw a sma!! "u""y #ome near where they
were ta!king$ e)t thing you know these 'oys started throwing stones at the !itt!e #reature, as he tried
des"erate!y to get away from them$
1<
The "oor frightened #reature ran out into the street 2ust as a #ar #ame s"eeding down the street$ The
"oor "u""y was hit 'y the #ar as the #ar ke"t on going$ The 'oys who wat#hed stood there and !aughed
at what took "!a#e$ This showed Karua that these 'oys no !onger had it in them to show un#onditiona!
!o&e, for their hearts were 'itter #o!d$
1=
The sma!! #reature des"erate!y ho''!ed to its feet, 'ut one !eg was hurt rea!!y 'ad$ As it !im"ed a#ross
the street towards the zoo, the "u""y !ooked 'a#k and saw that one of the 'oys was ye!!ing and making
his way towards him$ The 'oy wanted to torment the "u""y some more$
1>
Karua0 s heart went out to the "oor #reature as she hurried down from her #!iff$ -hen she got to the
fen#e she saw that the 'oys were in hot "ursuit 'ehind the "u""y$ Sti#king her arm through the fen#e
she motioned to the "u""y to #ome to her, whi!e making kissing sounds with her mouth$
1?
The 'oys were now in front of Karua0s home as they 'egan shouting for her to re!ease the "u""y$
Karua hid the "u""y and then #!im'ed to the to" of some ro#ks where she 'eat her #hest and made !oud
noises whi#h frightened the 'oys away$
21
@n#e Karua knew the 'oys were gone she #ame down from the ro#ks and 'rought the "u""y out of it0s
hiding$ Karua then gent!y #udd!ed the "u""y as she ro#ked it to s!ee" in her arms$ At that moment
e&eryone that was wat#hing saw for the first time a s"e#ia! radiant g!ow a'out the gori!!a, as she
showed a!! of them what un#onditiona! !o&e was a!! a'out$
22
After that day e&eryone #ame to see Karua and her !itt!e friend$ She s!ow!y nursed the "u""y 'a#k to
hea!th and from her heart she shared e&erything with him$ Soon the word got out to the news"a"ers
and e&eryone was ta!king a'out the a"e and the dog$
2:
The news"a"er story a'out Karua 'rought more &isitors to the zoo, wanting the #han#e to see her and
the "u""y$ The &i'ration of un#onditiona! !o&e that "oured out from Karua0s heart seemed to radiate to
a!! who &isited her area, as they wat#hed her and the "u""y "!ay together$
2*
+eo"!e started ta!king a'out how the energy that #ame from wat#hing Karua seemed to he!" #hange
their !i&es for the 'etter$ 1&en the : 'oys 'egan &isiting Karua on regu!ar 'ases$ S!ow!y her inf!uen#e
on them he!"ed #hange them into wonderfu!, !o&ing adu!ts$ @ne 'oy 'e#ame a firefighter, another
'e#ame an anima! do#tor whi!e the third one 'e#ame an anima! "hotogra"her who shared his work with
s#hoo! #hi!dren, he!"ing to tea#h them a'out #oming from the heart$
2;
The "u""y grew u" and s"ent many !o&ing years with Karua$ (t died many years ago, 'ut at the ri"e
o!d age of <1 Karua has 'een one of the 'est gifts to the wor!d$ She sti!! is a great e)am"!e for
e&eryone on how to kee" the "ositi&e &i'ration of un#onditiona! !o&e going around the wor!d 'y
#oming straight from your heart$
TH1 15
2<