“I want to see the ocean. Just once. Then I can die a happy man.”

“But Shakiro, didn’t you see the ocean on any of your spiritual journeys?”

The shaman scratches his head. “What spiritual journeys?”

“The ones you take when you smoke that stuff that makes your eyes roll back.”

“Aaah, those journeys. Some of them were epic! Did I ever tell you about the time I ended up on a beach where everyone was naked?”

“Really? Even women?” the chief asks in surprise.

“Oh, yeah. From head to toe.”

“And what happened?”

“Well, I stood there staring for a while until they noticed me and started yelling, ‘Get out of here, peeping Tom!’ One of them even threw a stone at me!”

“God... some people.”

"Yeah,"the shaman nods. “Some people are quick to judge.”

“Tell me about it. I have to make hard decisions every day as a chief,” he says, mirroring the shaman.

“Oh, come on, Man Mountain. Don’t be a drama queen. It only takes three things to be a fair chief. And the first one is...”

The chief scratches his beard, buying himself some time.

“A nice horse?”

“No, Man Mountain.” He replies pointing, to his head. “Brains. But you've got such a big head, so I assume you've got plenty of those.”

“Alright. So what are the other two?”

The shaman lowers his hand and places it on his chest with a touch of drama. “A big heart. Ask yourself how big your heart is. The bigger it is, the easier you'll find it to put yourself in other people's shoes.”

The chief is all ears.

“OK, so what's the third?”

The shaman smiles and points downward.

“You mean balls?”

The shaman rolls his eyes, exasperated.

“Noooo. Sadly, that's what everyone thinks. But I've met women with more balls than plenty of men.”

The chief ignores the comment and leans forward. “Then what?”

“Shoes, Man Mountain! You walk around barefoot all day.”

“I don't need them, Shakiro. I've got Bruce, my new horse.”

“Horses sometimes bolt and run off without any sense of direction. Man Mountain, you need your own shoes if you want to walk your own path.”

“Now you're talking.”