Kino and I were out for a walk the other day and we received some guidance from a crow. The whole experience opened my eyes to the importance of trusting the guidance we receive, even when we don't understand why we're being guided to do something.
On this particular day, I was really tired and my brain wasn't in high gear. I didn't want to go on the walk because I was so wiped out but I remember thinking that if I took Kino on a good long walk, maybe I could take a nap when we got back.
We were about 1/2 hour into our walk when a crow disturbed the daze my brain had fallen into. It was a single crow and his "Caw-Caw, Caw-Caw" was almost deafening. As I walked under the tree branch where the crow was making all that noise, I was trying to remember what Ted Andrews book (Animal Speak) says regarding what crows represent when they "show up" but his "caw-caw" was so loud, my mind went blank.
As we continued to walk, the crow flew down from the branch he had been perched on and buzzed my head - and he buzzed it so close that some of my hair actually flew up in the air. He landed on a branch a couple feet ahead of me and continued his "Caw-Caw, Caw-Caw." I was stunned and when I looked down at Kino, he was looking at me and seemed as stunned as I was. I knew the crow was trying to get my attention - but why? I said to him, "What are you trying to tell me" as I stared up at the tree branch but I didn't "hear" anything. Just as I began to take a step forward, the phrase "Turn around and go home" popped into my head. I thought it was odd. I didn't know if the phrase came from the crow or if I had just thought of the phrase myself, since clearly, I would have much rather been home that day.
I looked ahead and noticed that two houses down there was a dog loose in a front yard. At a quick glance, the dog looked like a labradoodle and from the way he was bouncing around the front yard, I assumed he was young. I observed that the fence surrounding their yard was barely two feet high and wondered if walking past their house would be too much for me and my leash reactive dog to handle. It would be easy for either of them to jump over the fence and if the dog got too close to us, who knows what Kino would do.
I got lost in those thoughts, as I was assessing the situation and trying to determine if Kino and I would be able to safely cross the street. Apparently I started to walk forward again because the next thing I knew the crow buzzed my head again. This time he landed on a power line right above my head and his "Caw-Caws" were even louder and more incessant. Then he started to smack his beak against the power line and I could feel his frustration . . . if I had to put words to what I was feeling from him it was, "You're not LISTENING to me!!!"
So once again I stopped and this time I took a couple deep breaths, closed my eyes and in my head said, "What are you trying to tell me?" I stood there with my eyes closed for a minute or so and the phrase "Turn around and go home" popped into my head again, only this time it included the word NOW!
I looked down at Kino and said, "I guess we're going home" and we promptly turned around and began walking back home. The analytical side of me was itching to know why . . . why did we need to turn around and go home? but I also sensed that it was more important to just do what the crow had told me to do. As we walked home, I noticed the crow was no where to be seen. I couldn't hear his "Caw-Caw" anymore so I figured he no longer needed to speak to us, since I had finally listened to him.
Still, my brain couldn't stop wondering . . . Why did we need to go home? Was there some danger up ahead that he was trying to keep us from? Or was there something going on at my house that I needed to be back for? As we continued to walk, the phrase "Crisis Averted" popped into my head a couple of times. That time I was sure the words didn't come from me and I could only assume that there must have been some danger ahead that Kino and I would have encountered if we had kept walking the path we were on.
The experience was certainly interesting . . . and it confirmed for me the important of "listening"and trusting the guidance we receive. That crow was determined to get his message across, even if he had to buzz my head and smack his beak against the power line to get me to listen. I am grateful that he was looking out for us and much to my delight, once I heard the phrase "Crisis averted" the analytical side of my brain relaxed. I could sense that the most important thing was that we had turned around and gone home . . . I didn't spin my wheels trying to figure out why. The crow knew why and I was glad I listened.
Animals are our guardians here on earth . . . not just our own animals, but ALL animals and this experience was a sweet reminder that we are being looked after and guided all the time. I am extremely grateful that Kino and I were protected from whatever "crisis" was up ahead that day. I'm also grateful that the crow was so determined to protect us that he went above and beyond to get through to me. :-)
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