Red Fox

Certain times in my life I'm graced by magic.  I go out into nature or for a wonder walk in the city and get slammed by the beauty of life.  That's what this blog is about, staying awake and open to beauty, and therefore experiencing something wonderful.  Cocooned for most of the Winter, the most astounding thing to me lately has been my warm blankets.

On Valentine's Day, I was sitting on a bench in the arboretum of Golden Gate Park with my man.  We were talking about things that were causing us stress: money, work, sex.  After 23 years together, we were feeling humbled by our everyday struggles.  Trying to hold space for all that amidst the enormity of our great good fortune.  

He sighted it then, a keen-snouted, bushy-tailed red fox, coming out into the open and disappearing into the underbrush.  We were maybe 30 feet away, but this gorgeous creature was meant for us.  


That red fox was like an arrow.  Its keen snout and ears pointing the way with a lush full tail streaming straight out behind it.  With luxurious thick-looking fur and clear markings, he or she looked well-fed on quail, squirrels, gophers, and other fellow park residents.

Elation might be the right word, this lightness in my heart and the happy-making repetition of our sighting.  Later I found that the red fox brings the Medicine of kundalini energy, sexuality and life-force; shapeshifting; and knowing when to hide and when to come out into the open.

Dear Red Fox, Thank you for bringing hope and the power of shapeshifting.  As Winter melts away into Spring, we're all counting on your Medicine to renew and revive for another round on the big wheel of life. 

P is for Perception

From my father I inherited the ability to see what's wrong. A pathologist, he spent most of his life in front of a microscope hunting down the cause of diseases. But I was made for the more elusive task of being Medicine and seeing beauty. It takes a lot of practice to choose moment to moment to focus and build on what's right in the world and in myself. 

On a beautiful hike yesterday I watched my mind do its habitual thing. Tree stumps and ugly military bunkers bummed me out, so that I didn't really take in the serene views of the bay and the city and the lovely sailboats. I was too busy imagining horrible things - my cat dead upon our return home, my partner mangled in a bike accident, gloom and doom. Each time I became aware of my tragic daydreams, I physically made an X in the air, a sign to the Universe that I'm not putting any more energy into manifesting those thoughts.

Try it now. Let a worst case scenario come up in your mind's eye. X it out and say 'that doesn't have to happen.' Then imagine something yummy, productive, helpful, ideal. Does it make you smile or laugh? Spend some time with that imagining and mark it with a + plus sign. Say 'thank you' for it already manifesting.

When I'm feeling grateful and open and willing to play, the world opens up with wonders. What lens are you using to perceive your world?