"In shamanic cultures, the question 'why' is always asked when someone becomes ill, or when there is an accident, a change in the climate, or social unrest. I recall the story of an American woman walking in a marketplace in Bali who fell, twisting her ankle. A passerby stopped to help her. 'Why did you fall?' he asked. The woman replied, 'I don't know, perhaps I missed my footing.' The man took her to a nearby healer. As the healer prepared a paste to rub on her swelling ankle, he asked her, 'Why did you fall?' 'Well, I don't really know,' she said. 'Perhaps it was these new shoes; I am not used to them.' The next day the swelling was a little better, but not completely. When the taxi driver taking her to visit a nearby village noticed her ankle, she told him that she had fallen in the marketplace. 'Why did you fall?' he asked. 'I don't know. Perhaps the rocks were laid unevenly on the path, perhaps it was the jostling of the crowd . . . why is everyone asking me why I fell?' she questioned, a little puzzled and annoyed.
" 'It is the most important question,' replied the taxi driver. 'I can take you to a great healer in my village, but he also will ask you why you fell. Until you are able to hear the message, you will be unable to heal completely. Perhaps your ankle will eventually get better, but another message will come in one form or another.' "
