Will you open yourself to the Animal Kingdom?

They are all around us. Every day. Every night. The mammals, the birds, the insects, the reptiles. They are just waiting for us to acknowledge them. They are watching us. They are ready to help us. I tell people I teach, "The moment you show interest in a new way of relating to the Animal Kingdom, unusual things will begin to happen. Animals, and other life forms will begin to acknowledge you, let you know that they know." I have so many stories of my own. I would love to hear yours.

Just last week I was having one of those busy stressful days that are all too familiar to all of us. I realized at 6PM, the time the feed store closed, that I had no feed for my horse, Toronado. I had been busy all day and had pushed to the back of my mind that I had not one drop of hay pellets left. Toronado's teeth are old and he cannot chew hay, so he must have moistened hay pellets. Fortunately, the wonderful woman at the feed store in Penrose, Colorado, said she would open for me. I raced to the car, hit the highway, and then realized I was headed to Pueblo, not Penrose...wrong highway. I was too far along to turn around, so I went the long way, arriving later that I said I would. Still the blessed soul sold me the feed, only asking that I do something nice for someone else and pass it on. Wow!

In my car, once again, I started to race out of the drive, when the largest male peacock I have ever seen, strutted slowly in front of my car. He stopped completely right in the middle of my path, lifted his gorgeous head and stared at me. My first response was "Move!" This, of course, he did not do. He had a job to do, a message to send, and was not moving until I got it! "SLOW DOWN," I heard, in no uncertain terms. "OK, OK," I said with irritation. Well, clearly that was not working. He still wouldn't move. Because....why? I hadn't slowed down internally, and he knew it. He could feel I was still racing. Finally, I slowly exhaled, came into the present moment and said gently, 'OK, I got it. I am slowing down." When he was sure I had indeed done that which he demanded, he began to strut, slowly, ever so slowly, across the front of my car, around the right corner, and down the passenger side, never taking his eyes off me. I thanked him as I left. When I arrived at the highway, the right one this time, I put on my cruise control, breathed slowly, and watched the panorama of God in Nature as I drove home. I felt safe, loved and wonderfully slowed.

Amazingly, it is usually big birds; peacocks, eagles, Great Horned Owls, Great Blue Herons and such who get my attention, when I am going way to fast, forgetting how important is the moment. What a gift! What a blessing. Thank You.