Animals as Guides

I believe that all animals are willing and able to serve as our guides while we are here on earth. The key is whether or not we're paying attention enough to receive the guidance they are sharing with us. While we most often think of our pets playing this role, the truth is, any animal, bird, reptile or insect that we encounter, may be attempting to give us guidance.

I have written about this before in past blogs, and mentioned one of my favorite books, Animal Speak, by Ted Andrews, that I frequently refer to when an animal "shows up" in a way that catches my attention. I emphasize "show up" because when we are getting guidance, the animal (or bird, reptile, insect) will make a point of getting our attention.

For instance, I see crows in my neighborhood all the time, I see and hear them when I am sitting in my backyard but I don't necessarily see that as "showing up." On the other hand, the other day, when I was sitting in the backyard, a crow landed on my fence right in my line of sight and then he sat there and stared at me for quite a few minutes, not moving, not adjusting his gaze. I knew he was "showing up," so I went inside to get my Animal Speaks book and see what guidance he was offering me.

The other night, I was leaving a clients house and she mentioned that a couple nights earlier, a friend had driven her home and they were sitting in the car visiting. They saw an opossum walk in front of the car, not once but twice. I told her my assumption was that the opossum was trying to get their attention. Of course, we can interpret the presence of an animal anyway we want. We can think "Ick, what is that thing doing in front of my house?" or we can consider that maybe it is trying to give us a message.

I mentioned once before that a friend of mine had been doing a lot of hiking with his wife and several days in a row, a badger crossed their path. The badger was close enough to make his presence known, but he didn't do anything to frighten them. He and his wife thought it was odd although they didn't give it much thought beyond that, but when I read to him, from Animal Speak, what a badger represents when they "show up" his jaw dropped. He said he couldn't believe how clearly the "message" related to the very things that were going on at the time for he and his wife, the very things they had been discussing while they were out hiking.

And just a couple weeks ago, I had an experience so strange, I feel compelled to share it. It was a warm day, so I had the back door opened. (I don't bother to close the screen anymore, since Lucky was kind enough to make german shepherd sized holes in it for me. I am sure she was thinking it would be helpful to me if I didn't have to get up and open the screen door when she wanted to go out back). :-) So, the backdoor was wide opened and I was up in my office. I heard a strange buzzing sound and looked behind the blinds in the window and realized a bee was buzzing against the glass. I told him to follow me and I'd show him the way back downstairs and out of the house but he didn't follow me. :-)

I got distracted when the phone rang, then got busy doing other things and finally went back up to my office to send some emails an hour or two later. When I sat down, I heard the buzzing again only this time it was louder. I looked behind the wood blinds and saw not one but two bees. I rushed downstairs, got a cup and a piece of paper, since I now knew I wasn't going to get the bees to follow voice commands, and went back up to begin the rescue mission.

I gently scooped the first bee into the cup, put the paper over the top so he wouldn't fly out and then deposited him on some flowers in the backyard. When I came back in, I closed the door, so he couldn't accidentally come back in, then headed upstairs to rescue the second one, only to discover there were three bees there. One by one, I gently scooped them into the cup, brought them outside, closing the backdoor behind me to ensure they didn't come back in.

Once I got all four of them safely outside, I heard the dryer buzz, so I went to the laundry room to get my clothes out of the dryer when I heard that familiar buzzing again. I looked around and sure enough, I found another bee in the laundry room. I went and got the cup again and got him transported to the flowers outside.

After I folded the laundry and put everything away, I sat down on the couch and once again, I heard buzzing. I couldn't believe it. It felt like I was in some alternate universe. In all the years I have lived here, never once has a bee come into the house. I looked behind the shutters in the front window and found two more bees. Once again, I got the cup and piece of paper and one by one, brought them outside, closing the door behind me each time.

I was thinking to myself "What in the heck is going on?" and "Why did all these bees want to come inside the house today?" when all of the sudden it dawned on me . . . they were clearly trying to get my attention. I grabbed my Animal Speak book and read up on what it means when a bee "shows up" in your life (or seven of them) :-) I smiled as I read what they represent, because they were things I definitely needed to hear that day.

So, I encourage you to pay more attention, whether you are at home, or out in nature, or on your way to or from work . . . are any animals, birds, reptiles or insects "showing up," trying to get your attention? They just might have an important message for you.