The Eagle’s Gift

A few days ago I wrote about the last Nature Walk. I have been pondering about the experience with the hunting eagle since then. I could enjoy the sight as a natural phenomenon and be happy with that. Then it would be merely an outer event. However, spiritual traditions teach us that the outer world is a mirror of our inner world. Given this is the case, what is the teaching of the eagle? Let me share with you what I found.

All the actors outside, the seagulls, the ducks and the eagle represent parts of my inner world. They are symbolic of what’s happening inside. The ducks dabbling on the surface of the water and the seagulls resting on the island are those parts of myself that are happy to indulge in complacency (resting) and in taking care of my own little daily business (searching for food). Not much is happening so far. This changes completely when my inner visionary shows up (the far-sighted eagle). The vision of how things could be causes an activation of my inner world, it raises my energy, creates a flurry of activity, yes it even transforms the low vibrating energy (resting and floating ducks and gulls) into higher vibrations (the fast flying birds undenyingly have a higher vibration), it definitely stirs the pot. It gets me going and helps me to reach a level of mastery, a peak performance, that I never would reach otherwise (you should have seen the incredible aerial acrobatics eagle and seagull performed!).

I was grateful to have understood that. The eagle taught me that to have a vision, to follow a dream, to create something new might not be a job for the lazy. Yet it surely will help us to be the greatest we can be. The world needs us as such. The world is waiting for our contribution, for yours and for mine. It is our vision and our commitment to fulfill it, to believe in it and to make it real, that is a gift for our community. First Nations can teach us about its importance. A young Native man or woman might go on vision quest into the mountains, fasting and praying to find his/her vision. This is the gift that they bring down from the mountain into their community. This is what gives them purpose and direction.

The gift of a hunting Eagle on a Sunday afternoon – it is the reminder to get active, to fulfill our vision. Isn’t nature a little bit like church?

When I’m going out in nature, I am really going in. John Muir