Sunrise Shapeshifting

"Sunrise Shapeshifting" © 2021

“The pathway to power lies in wisdom and understanding of one’s role in the Great Mystery and in honoring every living thing as teacher.”

                                                                                              Jamie Sams, Medicine Cards

The early morning sun, not quite above the horizon, began changing the dusty grayness of the night into an awakening landscape of yellow and orange. A mule deer gracefully leaped out of the shadows into the inviting light of the new day. Overhead a snowy owl soared through the receding night sky watching the stirrings of life below as it was beginning to wake up to greet this very special day. Everything in nature knew what was going to happen today. Animals could sense this energy of anticipation, even the wooded forest was quieter than usual, and there was so little movement of air it seemed as if the wind were holding its breath. 

But Jane, who paid very little attention to the nature, abruptly rolled over and slammed the button down on her alarm clock when it rudely awakened her with its nagging buzz. She had been yanked right out of a dream that had quickly faded from her memory, but still lingered as a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. Shaking off that uncomfortable feeling, Jane got out of bed and automatically followed a routine that had remained unchanged for years. She washed her face and brushed her teeth, dressed for work, tidied up the living room, ate a quick breakfast of buttered toast and black coffee and, in haste, fed her cat, Sam, some dry kibble. Grabbing her briefcase and jacket after one quick look around to make sure everything was in order, Jane then bolted out the door and jumped into her small compact red car parked next to her rustic house located outside of town in a thickly wooded area. It was a much repeated ritual so automatic that Jane hardly had a thought about what she was doing. Most people she knew wondered why Jane lived so far out in the middle of nowhere and away from all the conveniences that were said to be necessities of modern life. But, when asked,  Jane couldn’t come up with a reason that sounded logical enough and even she herself sometimes wondered why.

As Jane drove absentmindedly toward the city, she spotted a deer at the side of the road, standing very still and appearing to be staring directly at her. Startled by this curious sighting, Jane shifted a bit out of her usual complacency. Quickly dismissing this odd encounter as she drove by, she was quickly lulled back into her usual detached state. Farther up the winding road a huge white owl perched on top of a crooked tree jarred her back into that uncomfortable place once again. It also felt a little unsettling that the owl, like the deer, was looking directly at her. Feeling a little frustrated that even with her usual effort, Jane just couldn’t force the eeriness of these events out of her mind. A persistent thought started to tug at her for some unknown reason that kept saying today was going to be different from all her predictable yesterdays.

Just as Jane was ready to talk herself out of any concern about this morning’s strange occurrences, a loud bang caused her to grip the steering wheel as her car swerved off to the side of the road completely out of her control. Shaken and a little frightened, Jane got out and inspected her car, and, just as she suspected, the right front tire was completely flat. Looking up the road toward town, she sighed knowing it was way too far to walk the rest of the way. And calling Joe’s Auto Repair shop was of no use since he didn’t open until later. Jane gazed up at the moon that was still lingering in the half-morning sky and wondered where that capable woman was she always thought she had been. As she turned eastward toward the direction of her home, she noticed an orange glow in the distance. For a moment Jane assumed it was the hint of the the morning sun peeking over the horizon, but, as she continued to watch it, she noticed an unusual glow that flickered against the dark sky. Suddenly, fear seized her as violently as if someone had struck her. It was fire! The woods near her home was ablaze! 

Running as fast as she could toward her home with the intention of saving her belongings, she felt herself panic at the thought of such loss. Jane could now smell the smoke as the threat of destruction was made even more real. 

As she hurried around the curve in the road, there stood that deer again in the hazy light, almost looking like an apparition. Its wide-eyed stare channeled an energy toward Jane that seemed to draw her into an unfamiliar place where she no longer felt any separation between herself and that strange deer. “Slow down”,  the deer seemed to say. “I have a message for you.”  Jane heard these words silently in her mind and knew that the deer was somehow communicating something very important to her. “Yes, the fire appears to be a threat to life and capable of consuming everything in its path of destruction as it burns away what is passing to make room for what is to come. This flaming catalyst is also a signal of great change and much needed cleansing. It is a sign of good things to come… a sign of hope for the world.”

As Jane received these words, they went directly into her heart awakening her to an even  deeper connection with the deer and allowing her to feel everything that this animal felt. It was as if she became the deer merging with its amazing spectrum of awareness and emotion. In this spiraling place of timelessness, Jane could feel no separation from herself and all of nature which surrounded her. The oneness she experienced revealed a primal wisdom of old teachings which called everyone, including herself, to responsible action in caring for nature. Indeed, we might not survive without it. Now Jane understood why she had wanted to move to the woods. Her whole life had been a calling leading up to this moment of insight and unity.  She saw clearly that it was her destiny to play a role in helping humanity repair its alienation to the natural world. 

When Jane arrived at her home, she quickly called the forest service alerting them to this new fire. Her notification was early enough to allow the firefighters to contain the fire and keep it from spreading to a nearby field and ultimately to her home. Not only had Jane saved her house, but she also helped to prevent the devastation of the woods and the habitat of many animals. Jane’s passion for life had returned motivating her to make some major life changes. She resigned from her management position at the firm and trained to become a wildlife advocate for environmental conservation. 

She focused her efforts on educating others of the importance of caring for our earth, air and water and the necessity of preserving the natural habitat for the welfare of all animals…. including us!

As people listened to the wisdom of her words, many began to live with a greater love and appreciation of our Earth mother. As the energy of their words and actions moved through others, like the ripples in a pond where a pebble had been tossed, patterns of light in the form of flowers radiated throughout all beings. The indifference that had plagued the hearts of humanity for many millennia was replaced with compassion. More and more people became stewards of the land and life-draining apathy disappeared as cooperation and responsible action grew.  High above this renewal of the heart, flew a large, white snowy owl gliding across a fully illumined sky. On a ridge below, a grateful deer stood like a monument in admiration of this demonstration of harmony and peace. The fabric of life that had been torn apart was now fully repaired as the Earth shone like a sapphire jewel amid the stars in heaven.

                                           Dan : naho!       Wo : yo : h!

                                               (It is said! It is good!)