This beautiful owl came to me as a gift from a friend who knows how much I love owls. It will go down as one of my most cherished gifts ever. I named her Gerri after the artist who created her. Isn’t she beautiful?
Gerri came at a time when I was questioning whether I am on the right path in life with this writing thing. After a bit of controversy from a previous post, I wondered if I am helping others or harming them? I wasn\’t sure. I know my heart and my intent, but sometimes the devil gets pretty loud.
Gerri was my sign, and I am a big believer in those. To me, almost everything is a symbol of something more.
Our family history is that my ancestors are Native American. I’m not sure it is true but it does not matter as I believe we are all truly one. We come from the same Source. Our Oneness gets lost because our minds tend to be wrapped up in the outside world while we miss what is within. Our human eyes often miss our Souls.
When I was a little girl, we spent a couple of days a year in Cherokee, North Carolina, at a place called Frontier Land. It was an amusement park with a theme geared towards cowboys and what we then called Indians. I didn’t relate to the Cowboys at all, but I was in awe of this Native American boy named Flying Eagle. The tilt a whirl was loads of fun, but the best part of Frontier Land was watching Flying Eagle do his beautiful dance. He dressed in a gorgeous garment with many feathers. His job was to become one with the music while making sure that his feathers never touched the ground.
n time I learned that to the Natives, animals and nature are guideposts.
Ultimately, they see the world differently than most of us do. I like the way the Native Americans interpret animals and have a book by David Sams that provides what different animals mean. A hummingbird means joy. A dog represents loyalty. A dolphin reminds us to breathe.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time with dolphins this past year and can tell you that I\’ve never felt so close to God as when I am with them. I wish I could share the feelings they bring with you. It is quite amazing!
Mother Nature has always been where I feel my most comfortable. I love people, but I am more at home when I am staring at a Bald Eagle or listening to a Bottlenose Dolphin breathe than I am anywhere else in the world. I can identify the call of a hawk and know it is telling me to be aware and to see the bigger picture. I see a spider as a sign that we are all a part of the web of life. Just like the web, we are interconnected despite our best efforts not to be. Ultimately, what we do to each other, we are doing to ourselves. One day I hope we collectively figure that out. I hope it won\’t be too late.
Back to Gerri. Owls are one of my most favorite animals. They are physically beautiful but also mean so much more. The night is the day to them, and they are not at all intimidated by the darkness. To the contrary, darkness is their friend. They can see in the dark and use their hearing to survive. I relate to that, too. I’ve had many dark nights of the Soul and sat in the silence that follows tragedy more times than most. I have come to see tragedy and pain not as a negative but as a means to open me up even more.
Rumi sums it up best, “The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
I have lots of wounds but also a Soul with a will that refuses to succumb to anything but the light.
Even before my little brother Griffen left this world, like the owl, I could hear things in the silence. I believe we all can if we choose. After Griffen passed on I began to hear him. I can be having the worst time in my life, and he calls my name. I love that. Through my tears and life’s hardest moments, he comforts and reminds me that this world is just a temporary stop.
One day we will all move on. Death is just a part of that. The space in between where we are born and die is where we do our life work — our Soul work. I’m determined to leave this place knowing that I took everything that came to me and turned it into something more. Everything! It isn’t always easy. Life work is hard. Soul work — even harder! God doesn’t leave us alone here. He sends us help. We only need to look to see it.
The animals can be our guideposts — our signs. People too. As I was saying earlier, we so often count on what our eyes see and hear. We think we are listening, but we listen to what our life experiences are telling us instead of our Souls.
Our planet is dying, and so are we! It isn’t just that we are growing old and dying. We are dying while we are living. Each day I see our world move a little further away from God and closer to man. It makes my heart sad. We are missing the real meaning of why God created us. We are here to learn real love for everyone and come closer to our Creator. If we shut off the world just briefly, we would all feel the connection to each other and every time we did so the world would become a better place.
I was having a rough time when my friend presented this owl to me. I was filled with doubt, fear, and uncertainty. Gerri reminded me to get quiet and listen. In the silence, I heard that life would never be certain, but I can be confident that if I keep believing and stepping even the smallest distances, the Great Spirit will guide me with signs along every step of the way.
I hope you found something in this post uplifting or helpful. If you are struggling through life take a few moments and breathe. It might not fix whatever is troubling you, but it might help you get a little relief.
Lots of love and light to you!
Kim
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