Sometimes we find ourselves in very strange situations under unusual circumstances. I am learning to embrace transition by looking for affirming signs and omens to remind me that I am always in the perfect place at the perfect time. Sometimes it takes a while before we realize just how perfect our weird new state of being can be.
Well, my latest clue that I am right where I need to be is a Coopers Hawk, that I have affectionately named Barry. Barry is named after a dear friend of the family we had when I was a child. Barry was probably the most interesting person I had ever met, at least with the life experience of a seven-year-old anyway. In his house in Atlanta, he had terrariums full of reptiles and amphibians… wild creatures I had never even heard of at that age let alone seen before, and yes, he had a hawk that he was rehabilitating…indoors! Well, I don’t really remember too much, but my parents tell me some pretty crazy stories about Barry’s pet hawk named “Awk.” That’s right, Awk the Hawk. Anyway, I digress…
Fast forward to the very strange and bizarre year 2020, “Barry” the hawk built her nest right over where my shiny red van, Ruby, is parked (…and eagerly awaiting her next adventure, I might add). Every day, Barry calls out her distinctive shriek and flies around the yard to her favorite perch, a dead limb on a tulip poplar, that just happens to be right in front of where we sit and look out the window. It feels like having an exotic pet! Now we hear her little one as well and this experience has brought so much joy!
Hawks have always had special significance to me and having this massive nest in the oak tree just outside has been such a wonderful gift. She reminds me that there is always magic all around us, we simply have to look for it. Sometimes our synchronicities and serendipitous moments are more subtle than a shrieking hawk. But nature never fails to fill me with awe and wonder. Even in the middle of a densely packed urban existence, we are always guided and supported by our ancestors, messengers, and benevolent helpers… all waiting patiently for us to awaken.
Namaste
