A Nature walk with a difference

When you shift your perception, the world can be interpreted very differently.

So it is with my nature walks. I have learned that nature is like an oracle, and so much can be revealed to us when we are open and mindful, and set an intention for animals/signs to come forward in their role as teachers. This was such a day!

Today it was the turn of the dogs, although birds would have the final say.

The first dog I encountered, fell into step with me. He had been having a good sniff around some bushes, and was lagging a long way behind his Humans.

“Why do you Humans rush around all the time?” he asked as he walked alongside me. “You really don’t take the time to interact with your environment. You miss everything going on around you because you are racing the clock all the time.”

His human must have been eavesdropping. As we caught her up, she complained, “He thinks he has got all the time in the world. We are constantly having to wait for him to catch up.”

The second dog came from behind when I was sitting on a bench. As he walked past, he gave my hand a good lick. “Do you have this level of unconditional love for everyone you meet?” he asked.

The third dog was making a great deal of noise. He was howling at his human who was failing to throw his ball for him. They were walking in the opposite direction to me, but five minutes later I could still hear him howling. His message: “Why do you Humans not want to play? Where is your sense of fun?”

The fourth dog asked me to converse with his human. He charged over to me, dropped on to his front legs, then charged back to his human. We started a conversation, and she explained that he had tripped her over. Something he had done a few times! The question I heard this dog ask: “Do you have so much enthusiasm for life that you bowl people over?”

Dogs can teach us so much- How to love, how to play, how to be mindful, and how to experience and express joy (even if it does prove a bit of a liability).

But my learnings weren’t quite over.

As I walked down an alley, I was serenaded by a robin singing on my left side, and a blackbird on my right. My attempts to video/photo them came to nothing. For some strange reason my camera mode had turned black and was not working. The robin then flew away, but the blackbird allowed me to get right up close. My face was only about two feet away from his. I heard him say, “Just get off your phone and interact with the world around you. Soul to soul, heart to heart.”

So I did, and boy what a reward! For now the blackbird and I were having the most beautiful interaction. As he sat on the top of the hedge, his beady eyes were staring straight into my own. He sang, I listened. I spoke in a lilting voice, he listened. For a few minutes, we took it in turns to have our say. Wow, this bird was listening to me better than my husband does. I was just loving this beautiful conversation.

Our reverie was finally broken by some people walking behind me. Time to say goodbye!

Arriving home, I discovered that my camera mode was working fine. But of course, I knew it would. The blackbird had requested my full attention! And had delivered a powerful message – no amount of technology can compare to interacting deeply with the natural world.

This walk had been eventful. I decided to pick a card from my sacred oracle deck. Is there anything else spirit wanted me to know?

The card was “Illumination.” It was just perfect. The mists in the card matched the mists/fog over Kinver Edge and the message couldn’t have been more apt:

“The upward, spiraling mists suggest that those in the realm of spirit are close at hand, assisting you on your upward journey of illumination. They are protecting and supporting you. “

There was no denying the truth of these words. It had been a most illuminating walk, on a misty morn over Kinver Edge.