The smallest connection with a wild creature feels like a blessing: a butterfly that lands on our sleeve, a deer who meets our gaze in the wood, the hummingbird that circles us before flying away. Just that tiny acknowledgment feels like a gift, re-binding some thread of a cord that was severed long before we were born.
What moment of connection with a wild animal do you cherish?
The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation Without Walls.
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This morning, while I was headed out the door to go to work, I heard a wild turkey warbling in the woods down the road. It seemed to be reminding me that I was still apart of nature too.
I’ve spent a lot of time hiking and camping throughout my life. One of the most memorable moments was coming upon a large sidewinder rattlesnake in the Arizona desert. I was within 10 feet of this fierce and magnificent creature before my buddy spotted it and warned me to look to my right and keep walking slowly away. When I saw the snake my heart almost stopped from fear and then, after I understood that I wasn’t going to be attacked, the scene became almost surreal for me. The beauty of this rattlesnake in the wild was something I will never forget. I’m certain that the added element of real danger served to amplify my senses and etch this vivid memory into my mind almost 40 years later. I am also very grateful that story had a happy ending and the snake and went our seperate ways without any trouble.
When our corgi was a pup and exploring his back yard, he suddenly crouched and tried to hide under one of our desert shrubs that hugged the 4-foot wall. I came and peered over the wall and stared into the eyes of a huge coyote. Shoo, I cried, shoo, waving my arms at him. He didn’t move a muscle but continued to glare at me over his right shoulder. I realized first that this impasse could not endure, picked up the cowering pup and ran for the house.