The only way to pass a test is to take the test

We all laughed when Oota told how the government sometimes provided housing for the Aborigines.  The people slept in the yard and used the houses for storage.  That brought up their definition of a gift.  According to the tribe, a gift is only a gift when you give someone what the person wants.  It is not a gift if you give what you want them to have.  A gift has no attachment.  It is given unconditionally.  The persons receiving it have the right to do anything with the gift:  use it, destroy it, give it away, whatever.  It is theirs without condition, and the giver expects nothing in return.  If it doesn't fit that criteria, it is not a gift.  It should be classified as something else.  I had to agree that government gifts and, unfortunately, most of what my society would consider a gift would be classified differently by these people.

During our journey there were two occasions that we celebrated by honoring someone's talent.  Everyone is recognized by a special party, but it has nothing to do with age or birthdate - it is in recognition of uniqueness and contribution to life.  They believe that the purpose for the passage of time is to allow a person to become better, wiser, to express more and more of one's beingness.  So if you are a better person this year than last, and only you know that for certain, then you call for a party.  When you say you are ready, everyone honors that.

"There should be no suffering for any creature except for what they accept for themselves."  That was a thought to ponder.  Spirit Woman explained that each individual soul on the highest level of our being could, and sometimes did, select to be born into an imperfect body; they often came to teach and influence the lives they touched.  Spirit Woman said that members of the tribe that had been murdered in the past had selected prior to birth to live their life to the fullest but, at some point in time, to be a part of some other soul's enlightenment test.  If they were killed, it was with their agreement on an external level and only indicated how truly they understood forever.  It meant the muderer had failed the challenge and would be tested again someplace in the future.  All diseases and disorders, they believe, have some spiritual connection and serve as stepping-stones if Mutants would only open up and listen to their bodies to learn what is taking place.

Royal Black Swan said - They also have something in their lives called frosting.  It seems to represent how they spend almost all the seconds of their existence in doing superficial, artificial, temporary, pleasant-tasting, nice-appearing projects and spend very little actual seconds of their lives developing their eternal beingness.