Coyote Wisdom

learning shadow lessons

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When I write to you, I'm always writing about what is happening at the moment. That may be a seasonal observance, a turn on the wheel, some new insight I've had, or a particularly compelling interest that's risen to the surface.

Other writers like to plan topics and write drafts well in advance, but not me. Every time I send you an essay, it's fresh and new and fills my awareness at the time of writing.

I don't know how magazines and ad agencies wrap their creative minds around shooting Christmas campaigns in June and Summer Fun clothing collections in December.

I'm not able to do that. I respond to the season, the month, and the moment. But here's the catch. What happens when it's a quiet part of the season and not too much is happening in my outer or inner world? What about those times of relative stillness?

As you may have guessed, I'm in a lull right now. Perhaps it is the calm after last Saturday's mighty Ring of Fire Eclipse. It could be emotional fatigue from the constant barrage of war news from two significant conflicts. Then again, the Earth herself may be in a mellow time of quiet surrender as October ripens and begins to decline, and I'm feeling her energy recede.

In this quiet time, I'm not finding lightning bolts of insight or action but subtle movements that gently ease me through the days.

But then something unusual happened yesterday, which I will tell you about.

I glanced out the window into the backyard and saw something curious on the ground next to my bench near the rock wall beside the edge of my spiral meditation path. There are a fair amount of leaves on the ground, and I didn't know what it was, but I thought it might be an animal as the look of it was one of fur.

I got my binoculars and focused on it. To my astonishment, it was a coyote. Now, I know we have coyotes in the neighborhood. I've seen them and heard them, as well as found their tracks and scat. However, I've never seen one curled up and sleeping in my backyard.

I watched for a while, and eventually, he got up and yawned. My dogs, who were in the house with me, barked, which they do whenever I'm looking out the window. Molly barks because she knows I'm looking at something, and her instinct is to protect. Quinn is less astute and barks because Molly is barking, though I'm certain he's not sure why he's barking.

Molly is always alert and on guard duty. Quinn is happy, goofy, and enjoying life.

The barking made the coyote look straight at me. What astounding eyes he has. Clear, light, sharp, focused, and fierce. Even though I was still looking through the binoculars, our eyes met, sending a shiver down my spine. The feeling was feral, raw, imbued with survival, and...noble.

He stood up, and I could see he had mange and limped when he walked. This deeply saddened me. As an empath who is particularly empathic towards animals, I was melancholy for the rest of the day and evening. I strongly suspected that he would not survive the winter.

I was moody and brooding, restless, unable to shake the thought of him. He'd gone off into the woods, and there was nothing I could do for him, or was there?

For some time now, I've been learning how to trust my ability to send healing and protection to those in need. Do I have proof that I can do this? I have some anecdotal evidence, but more importantly, I have begun to trust this, and trust is the key.

Because this is a very personal practice I have developed, I won't go into all that it entails except to say that it has taken me a long time to excise my ego and work from a place of channeling spirit. I have a propensity, a shadow aspect of The Healer archetype that very strongly wants to assert itself as the main character, the savior, the rescuerer. While saving and rescuing are honorable tasks, they're not when it's all about me. There's been a lot of messy shadow work that has finally untangled ego, motivations, impulses, and results. Interestingly, this was one of the first shadow parts of Self I encountered when I began creative depth work nearly a decade ago. The issue arose around a lost dog (not mine), so this has been a hurdle for me for many years.

An early piece of art exploring the shadow side of my empathic connection to animals during the lost dog episode circa 2016. Uncannily, it features a coyote.

Engaging with my practice for sending protection and healing did a lot to help me settle down. I also remembered something else. I follow Laura, aka WheatandChaff, on Instagram. She is a bone collector, part of the vulture culture, and also gifted at osteomancy divination with bones. Some time ago, she wrote an essay about the reality of nature being red in tooth and claw. She would certainly know as someone who retrieves the bodies and bones of animals that have perished in the wild. Her insights reminded me that wild animals live free but face suffering and hardship. Yet, this is how they are equipped and ordained to live. Their majestic nobility lies in their ability to live and die on the terms appointed to them. They must be what they are, do what they do, and endure what they endure. They have my deep and reverent respect.

Of course, sometimes, we witness merciful human intervention. I support several animal rescues and find a different kind of reverent respect for animals that adapt to human company and become unusually tame and bonded to those who care for them. They hold out for me the promise of The Peaceable Kingdom that hoped for eternal state where all living beings reside in perfect harmony. To this notion, I cling with unshakeable faith and enduring hope.

The Peaceable Kingdom Edward Hicks. Hicks was an American folk painter and distinguished religious minister of the Society of Friends. He became a notable Quaker because of his paintings. He painted many, many versions of this scene as if each painting were a prayer for peace. I chose this version because of the peaceful negotiations going on in the background between the English and the Native Americans.

An interesting synchronicity occurred while I was writing to you. I glanced over to my left and was met with Coyote's eyes. Not an actual coyote, of course, but I keep several rattles and feathers in a jar to the left of my desk. I made one rattle in particular, with a coyote on it. This rattle sits there every day, and I never notice it; it's become part of the furniture, so to speak. Today, however, its energy drew my attention to it.

My Coyote Rattle

I lifted it out of the jar and began to rattle. As I sank into a calm state of trance, I began a modified version of the well-known Loving-kindness Meditation, especially for my coyote.

May you be safe. May you be fed. May you be healed. May you have a gentle death.

This ancient Buddhist practice cultivates goodwill and universal friendliness toward oneself and others.

This simple calming of the mind and body and the loving and compassionate words and thoughts directed toward an unexpected visitor brought me much peace. It was a gift from Coyote.

Never underestimate the interconnectedness of all things. Never assume that events are simply random and meaningless. Look deeper and respond to the moment. Who needed healing words more at that moment, the coyote or me? Who was the healer, and who the healed?

As above, so below. My seemingly random encounter with the coyote portends something meaningful and necessary for both of us in the world of matter and spirit.

Please offer the loving-kindness meditation to my coyote if you are moved to do so.

What are your thoughts about seemingly random encounters? Do they signify something more? Have you experienced synchronicities? What have wild animals taught you?

The comments section is a safe and welcoming space to share your insights and experiences.

Comments and conversation are always appreciated and enjoyed, so feel free to let your voice be heard. I read them all and try to respond to each one.

Thank you for reading Hedge Mystic and participating in this vibrant and growing community of creative, spiritual humans. You are always welcome here, appreciated, and loved. 

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Discussion is encouraged. Leave your reactions and insights in the comments.