A few days ago while driving down the cedar lined, canopied driveway, I was startled by a large bird appearing immediately in front of my windshield. Thankfully I was traveling slowly and the bird had no trouble gaining ground on me, but I slowed the car to a crawl anyhow.
The bird flew steadily right down the middle of the drive, about 5 feet off the ground. At first glance I thought it was a red tailed hawk, but noticed it was too big for a hawk. Then the thought "Owl" pops in my head. The thought that popped into my head was from my guides, and they where confirmed to be right, when the owl landed on a low hanging cedar branch about 8 feet off the drive.
He, or she, is a barred owl, and very curious. I sat in my car watching him, while he watched me. Occasionally he'd glanced away, as if responding to a familiar sound, but his gaze soon returned to me observing him. I had a feeling of silliness about the whole situation. It was fun watching him, or her. But I also found it fun having him, or her, watch me. Here we are, two of God’s children of different species, learning more about each other.
I had to continue on my way, but I took that owl, whom I now had named Ollie, with me through my whole morning. I couldn’t stop thinking about the cool encounter, and how playful it made me feel. I couldn’t wait to get home and hopefully see him, or her, again.
I did indeed see Ollie, three more times since that morning. I had another fly by when I was walking back from the mailbox. He flew by me so low, passing about 5 feet off the ground from my left shoulder, crossing my path, and landing on a low hanging branch where he perched just looking at me. I stopped dead in my tracks as I heard, what are supposed to be his silent wings coming from my left side. Owl’s wings are silent in flight, giving them a major advantage in hunting prey. So I was quite startled when he flew so close to me. Had I not been dressed in full clothing to protect from mosquitoes, I would have felt the breeze from his mighty wings.
I spent several minutes with him as he seemed to playfully practice hunting. I say playfully practice, because he seemed so comical in his actions. He tried landing on a large beetle, that didn’t seem affected by the incident at all. Ollie looking side to side for the beetle in front of him while the beetle freely crawled away, unharmed from under his talon, behind him and wandered off the side of the drive.
The last two times I saw Ollie, I was looking for him. Each time I found him sitting on a low hanging cedar branch, watching the drive for fresh prey. Fortunately I came armed with cameras. Barred Owl | Audubon Field Guide
Ollie
Some Native American lore says owls are associated with magic, deception, bad omens, illness, or even death. Let’s look at the flip side of the owl coin. Maybe Ollie isn’t the bringer of bad omens, illness, black magic, or death at all. Ollie was engaging, and playful, even seeming to exhibit interactive behavior. He would fly short distances down the drive, land and look back at me, as if to say, “Are you coming?” It was like he wanted me to join in on his fun of waiting, watching, and then attempting to catch large insects from the driveway.
I can’t help but wonder if the fear people have of owls is because they are nocturnal by nature. Humans have feared the darkness of night, and the animals that thrive in that darkness, since the beginning of humans. Owls live in the environment they are naturally evolved too. They can see in the dark, humans can’t. Their wings are silent in flight, humans don’t have wings, and humans aren’t very silent. Their hearing is excellent, human hearing can’t compare. Is this why humans fear a harmless owl? Humans don’t share the traits of the nocturnal wildlife that lives in the darkness of the void. And humans are really good at being afraid of things that aren’t like them. It is a shame to harbor such fears, because most of the time, it is unwarranted. And remember, fear is always EGO, and you can tell your EGO to STOP IT! As I write about in my book, Tell Your Ego Stop It! Start Living Conch-sciously.
While I was writing a rough draft of this blog, I began to receive messages from my guides, or so I thought. The other Earth, where we all live in harmony with everything, sits in the 4th and 5th dimensions. And after spending time taking pictures of Ollie, thoughts began to form in my head.
Here is what I received, “You’re on the right track”, “We’ve got your back”, “Remember to laugh loud, and long at yourself, and your mistakes”, “Spend time in nature so you may get to know how important your presence, and your part is in nature”, “Have fun, not fear, learning from your plant, animal, and insect brothers and sisters, after all, what animal doesn’t feel at home in nature?”
Every day I do my best to help Mother Earth become a better place for us all. So when I receive messages like the ones above, it confirms to me that I am on the right track.
These messages are from Ollie himself, to share with all of you. Enjoy them, learn from them. And the next time you are in nature, and a different type of thought pops into your head, it just might be Ollie cheering you on.
Thank you Ollie for your wisdom and guidance, from your human brothers and sisters..