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Natural Hieroglyphics – Day 857

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Natural Hieroglyphics – Photo: L. Weikel

Natural Hieroglyphics

Our walk late this afternoon yielded a remarkable observation that just begged to be photographed and shared. A branch of a tree had fallen on one of the back roads we travel when we go on our longer ‘walkabout.’ It obviously had been cut with a chainsaw and tossed on the berm to decay. While this is a relatively common occurrence, the mystery evoked by the natural hieroglyphics lurking under its bark was a welcome addition to our day.

Yes, of course. We know the markings are the result of insects living beneath the bark. But it doesn’t take a deep dive into the ocean of whimsy to see the designs created by these creatures resemble early efforts by humans to convey thoughts, ideas, and perhaps emotions as well.

I guess the markings probably resemble more the musings of our most ancient ancestors (those I referenced in my recent post about a Cloud Horse) – not necessarily the further evolved ideas of the ancient Egyptians. Nevertheless, one could definitely ‘read’ meaning into this discovery.

Signs and Symbols – Photo: L. Weikel

Intuition or Baloney?

I’m not positing that we drew any conclusions from our discovery today, beyond the fact that the natural world creates works of beauty filled with symbols recognized by humans for millennia.

And even though we didn’t ‘read’ anything into the figures and faces, spirals and meandering paths we could see as plain as day etched into this chunk of wood, I’m not reluctant to say we could have. We didn’t see messages or interpret signs because we hadn’t asked a question. We weren’t seeking answers to anything in particular.

Or maybe we were – and maybe we received exactly what we needed. Maybe we were yearning for a flash of creativity from Mother Earth or the creatures with whom we share our environment. Perhaps we needed to see some freeform artwork that would send our own creative juices into a state of demanding expression instead of always being happy to step aside for more practical and logical endeavors.

Photo: L. Weikel

Permission

When we give ourselves permission to imagine we unleash a whirlwind of potential.

Maybe that’s why, as a culture, we tend to instill in ourselves and our children (because it was instilled in us) a disdain for embracing our intuition. Actually, beyond disdain, it actually feels like a fear of embracing our ability to tap into the Unseen. There’s an incredible amount of power inherent in imagination, creativity, and making intuitive connections to signs, symbols, and patterns in our lives.

What happens when we give ourselves license to truly engage our imaginations? To read the patterns engraved in wood by insects that may have died months or years ago? Could it be possible that there is a web of connection between all beings we encounter – between us and everything else in our world?

Is it be possible that we can access insight and guidance from beings we arrogantly deem lack sentience?

It makes me wonder if the message brought by our natural hieroglyphics was to provoke a musing on precisely these questions.

In Context – Photo: L. Weikel

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Darkness’s Secrets – Day 814

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Pristine @ 10:56 p.m. – Photo: L. Weikel

Darkness’s Secrets

You just never know what’s going to be lurking around outside when the lights are out. It’s no secret I’ve had my share of vicarious encounters (mostly courtesy of Spartacus barreling out the door in milder weather only to bowl over an opossum snacking on sunflower seeds or a skunk snagging a couple peanuts from under the peanut coil). But last night I wouldn’t even have known we had a visitor at all had the snow not been quite so revelatory of darkness’s secrets.

My photo at the top of this post was taken last night at 10:56 p.m. I was preparing to write my post and Spartacus needed to make a quick stop outside before heading upstairs to cuddle with Karl. Spart wastes no time dilly-dallying outside when we’re in the midst of a snowstorm.

The stillness was lovely – the only sound being an eerie one note tone resonating ever so softly from our wind chimes. The pile of snow perched atop our metal fire pit cover was one indication of the 18” or so of snow we got. (I was astonished when it continued snowing throughout this morning.)

I took the photo at 10:56 p.m. because of the utter absence of footprints anywhere. It was too deep for Spartacus to bound into (especially this late at night) for the purpose of relieving himself. Even all the bird prints underneath the feeders had been covered by additional snow falling long after the birds had nested up for the night.

2:33 a.m. – Who Goes There? – Photo: L. Weikel

So…What Was THAT?

So when I turned the lights on one more time before heading up to bed myself last night (at 2:33 a.m.), I was a little surprised to see the obvious footprints before me. But then, when I looked a bit closer, I was even more surprised and not a little bit puzzled.

I tried zooming in on the photo I took, but that doesn’t seem to translate well into a blog post. (I’m including it at the end anyway.) So the best I can do is include the photo as it appears in my iPhone, and if you’re interested, you can zoom in on it yourself.

So Many Questions

I find a few things intriguing about these footprints:

  • They don’t come all the way up to the feeders. So…no snacking on birdseed (or peanuts, although the peanut coil is not in this frame);
  • Although they don’t come all the way up to the feeders, there’s also no indication that they were either spooked and fled quickly OR that they turned around. So…how did they make their way back into the woods from which they came?
  • There is a huge space between ‘strides’ of this animal. Was it huge? Was it hopping? I might think a jack rabbit (but they don’t live around here), so…might it have been a fox? I’ve seen videos of them sort of hopping through snow. But it still flummoxes me how they got themselves turned around so they could return to the woods, though.
  • There seemed to be at least two, maybe three or even four different animals out there at the same time. There was the ‘big strider’ over toward the right, just beyond the cone of the fire pit snow, but the prints on the left look decidedly smaller and the stride is so much more abbreviated it makes me doubt they were the same species.

And all of this happened under the cloak of darkness in the span of 3.5 hours. While I was sitting inside writing my post and reading my book, living and breathing beings were hanging out in my yard, deciding whether or not to indulge in some birdseed, retreating back into the forest without obviously turning around, making choices based on who knows what information or intuition?

Just another couple of darkness’s secrets, I guess.

Closeup – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-297)

Take Cover – Day 718

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Tigger Taking Cover – Photo: L. Weikel

Take Cover

I think this photo of Tigger speaks volumes. If you followed the news at all today, in any form – radio, television, FB, Twitter – and if you’re anything like me, you’re probably harboring this declaration as your silently mumbled Election Day (and beyond) strategy: “Take cover!”

And yet, as we all know, that is an essentially unsustainable tack to take. We can and possibly would be advised to run for cover initially, because, well, there’s a decent chance that people are going to get worked up over whatever happens next Tuesday, and they’re almost sure to act out in some way. But taking cover can only suffice so long.

Writing It Out

It’s probably time for us to start mapping out strategies within our own minds as to how we might want to proceed given various potential outcomes. This is where writing in a journal can really be a huge boon to our mental health.

Let’s face it: we’re being faced with what, for many of us, feels like an existential threat. Even as I type those words, I’m reminded how – as real as those words feel to me – how privileged I am to be writing them as a white middle aged woman. (Ew. But facts are facts.) If I’m feeling that the events we’re going to be encountering over the next several days and weeks, if not months and years, are posing an existential threat to me, what in the world must Black and brown people, indigenous people, LGBTQ people, immigrants, and all sorts of other people feel?

When I think about the risks we’re all facing right now, with the hammer of an ultra conservative Supreme Court majority held over our heads, my stomach lurches. I’m afraid for my friends who are married to their same-gendered loves. I’m terrified for all Black people – but especially young Black men (and those who love them) – and the risks they take just by walking down a street or driving in a car. I grieve over the horrific conditions immigrant children (and their parents) find themselves in – here, of all places – when all they sought was escape from untenable circumstances.

What world do we live in? What country are we creating? What really matters?

What Really Matters?

If we give ourselves a little breathing room to actually pin down the thoughts that are careening around in our minds like an old-fashioned pinball machine playing quadruple bonus balls, it helps.

Yes, perhaps we initially, at least furtively, think, “I’ll leave the country.” Well? Write it out. Where would you go (especially now)? How would you support yourself? What would you do with your current abode and all the stuff that’s inside it?

Thinking through your options, and writing them down, clarifies the mind. It also serves to stop the endless stream of thoughts that actually don’t serve you. Details matter. They bring the situation you’re contemplating down from the elusive, broad-brush stroke airy land of threats and idealistic thoughts, to earthy practicality.

If you really think you may want to leave, ask yourself, “What’s my plan?” And listen to the answer that pours out of your fingertips.

If writing out the details makes you realize leaving is too much of a hassle or – equally as possible – you feel a stirring of something else underneath that knee jerk “I’m leaving” reaction, you need to follow that thread.

Does it stick in your craw to imagine abdicating everything you’ve been taught to believe the United States stands for? If so, describe your feelings. What really, truly matters to you? What are you willing to do for those ideals? If nothing else, write it out to yourself.

Our Greatest Hours

Believe it or not, I truly believe our greatest hours may be approaching. I’ve not even the slightest clue what’s going to unfold over the next five days, much less the next five weeks, five months, or five years. But I do have a  powerful sense that whatever happens may catalyze all of us into making choices we never dreamed we’d be asked – or forced – to make. We may be called to dig deeply into acting upon what our core values demand of us.

But first, we need to know what those core values are. Not high-and-mighty, lofty ideals. I’m talking nitty gritty, fundamental-to-my-identity, what matters to me most values. Only then can we each decide for ourselves the answer to: what am I willing to do to demand, protect, defend, and advocate for these values?

If we give ourselves the gift of reflecting on these questions over the next several days instead of doom watching or doom scrolling (such eerily and sadly apt phrases), we just might realize that we’re approaching the most important choice points of our lives. Our reasons for being born at this time, in this country, and being faced with these specific challenges may all be coalescing now.

We may be approaching our greatest hours. Let’s prepare.

Photo: L. Weikel

(T-393)

Finding Safety & Security – Day 169

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Box Turtle – Photo: L.Weikel

Question and Answer

I recently received an email from someone who’s been reading my posts. They asked me a question, and since I feel the question could be something lots of people might wonder, I thought I would share my answer.

Reader’s Question:

“Hi Lisa, I’ve been reading your posts and website, and it seems that we have many common pet peeves. I was wondering how you deal with them and where you find the strength. In general, I just feel that life is filled with torment. Where do you find safety and security?”

– JF (edited only slightly to remove possible identifying details)

My Answer:

“Dear JF,

First off, thanks so much for taking the time to read my posts and website.

Interesting question you pose. Where do I find safety and security. I guess my first response would be “in my connection with Mother Earth.”

As I’ve cultivated my ability to listen (and yes, there really is something to the sentience of all beings, including those that humans consider ‘just animals’ or even ‘inanimate’ – and they really are willing to communicate with us), I realize and know, deep down, that I’m not alone. And not only comfort but guidance is available to us.

We just need to learn how to ask for connection and cultivate our ability to See and Hear in new ways.

As we raise our energy and awareness, we really do start to see things in a new way. All of this may sound like a bunch of b.s., but I’m living it. And I’m doing my best to share the magic with others who are ready to shift their awareness.

Have you read my book yet? The experiences I had in that book were back in the early 90s. I’d never even taken a shamanic journey during the slice of my life that I describe in that book. So basically, Owl Medicine describes me at the beginning of this life-long journey.

If I did not have the world (and beyond-world) perspective that I cultivated over the past 30 years or so, I doubt I would have come through the experience of the death of my son in the way I have. Of course, it’s a process. And I still have my moments. But there is so much more beyond what we accept as reality. And I know that because I’ve experienced it directly.

As you can tell from reading my blog, though – I still get really freaked out and pissed off at the unconsciousness of so many. But wallowing in that for too long only brings me down. My task, as I understand it, is to raise my own energy up and trust that those who are ready to raise theirs will respond to my message, and my “Work,” and join me.

We can’t change the world, but we can shift our own selves and perspectives and then everything and everyone around us has to shift too (or fall away).

Don’t know if this makes sense, but…

I’m really glad you wrote!”

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I just want to mention that I chose the Torment card (which corresponds to the Devil card in traditional tarot decks) from the Vision Quest Tarot two days in a row, yesterday and today, as Karl and I walked. And I chose Turtle (Mother Earth) – with Beaver (Builder – or ‘doer’) underneath this morning. Given that the word ‘torment’ was used in this question – and my answer was directly related to Mother Earth – it seemed like Beaver was urging me to share this interchange.

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If you enjoyed this glimpse into the way I think (which, let’s face it, you subject yourselves to just by reading my posts anyway), please feel free to help me mix up the format!

Email me a question you may be pondering and I’ll do my best to give you my perspective, which may or may not be predictable, controversial, laughable, or even relatable. I’m not promising I’ll answer every question I receive, but if it’s sincere, I’ll do my best to give it a shot.

I just want all of you reading my words to know yet again how much I appreciate that you take the time to do so. And please: if you read something you enjoy or find interesting or helpful, feel free to share. If I’m going to be dedicating myself to this endeavor for the next 942 days (or more), I might as well seek to be read by as many as possible!

I know I have a core of you who have been sticking with me for 169 days so far. Wow! That’s just so cool. I hope you feel my gratitude.

Photo: recinet.ca

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