Messages from animals

I have had a hummingbird feeder in my backyard for quite a few years but it wasn't until about a year ago that I began to notice hummingbirds stopping by the feeder almost every day.  I was going through a rough time when this started to occur and I started to wonder if there was a reason that I was suddenly being visited by hummingbirds so often.

I went into my office and pulled out a book I had called Animal Speak by Ted Andrews. Someone had given it to me as a gift years before, and while I had looked through it at the time I had received it, it had since been sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust.  The book focuses on recognizing and interpreting the signs and omens of the natural world and is based in the belief that whenever animals appear in our lives, there is meaning . . . they have come to help us see something or learn something, and if we are willing to pay attention, they can serve as our guides.

I read what the book said about hummingbirds and one sentence in particular caught my eye. It said that the hummingbird is a symbol for accomplishing that which seems impossible, that hummingbirds can teach us how to find the miracle of joyful living from our own life circumstances.   At the time, I was feeling incredibly defeated and just reading that they were a symbol of accomplishing that which seemed impossible lifted by spirits.  I wasn't sure if that was the reason they were showing up in my backyard as often as they were but I wanted to believe it was . . and from then on, each time a hummingbird stopped by for a drink from the feeder, I would thank him (or her) for the reminder and a heaviness would lift from my shoulders.  

Recently, I have noticed that the hummingbirds are back.  I have also noticed that they only seem to show up when I am having a tough day and am feeling defeated.  With Lucky's health deteriorating so much lately and her tumors still growing, I have spent many days feeling overwhelmed by it all and wondering how I am going to get through it.  Those are the days the hummingbirds seem to come around and each time I see them, I try to remind myself that they are a symbol for accomplishing that which seems impossible and I thank them for coming.  I have also noticed that when the presence of a hummingbird doesn't immediately lift the heaviness that I am feeling, another hummingbird will come by and then another one and then another one.   They seem determined to help me get the message they are there to deliver and thankfully for me, they haven't given up trying to get through to me. 

I really do believe that animals are here to teach us, if we're willing to pay attention.  They don't need to be our pet, although, I believe our pets are always here to teach us as well.  I believe that the more we pay attention to the animals that cross our paths, whether they are walking or flying, the more guidance we will receive.  

I am grateful for the hummingbirds that keep me from getting too discouraged, who remind me that I need to find joy in my circumstances.  They help keep me in the present, they help me to appreciate every moment that I have with Lucky and they help remind me that I can accomplish whatever seems impossible that day.