Funny how deer remained the lesson of the season, all summer finding ways to speak.
It was mid-September, approaching summer’s end, and I was at the same intersection point where the deer and dog encounter had sparked.
Out of the blue, a trail guide yelled, The deer are following you!
Again?!
I thought he was just kidding or being friendly. But he was not kidding. I peered through the brush and spotted the deer. A family of three, a doe and two fawns were on the run down the mountain.
As I made my way around the curve, the deer bolted out of the woods and leapt across the path to the other side. So much was reminiscent of my previous encounter, but this time the deer seemed playful! Follow me, they seemed to say, I dare you to leap!
Suddenly they were on my left, then the right, sailing in front of me, zig-zagging the whole way down. A hush would fall and then after a loud crunch of branches, the deer would burst out of the woods once more.
We were dancing to, what seemed to be, amazing choreography.
When I finally got to the bottom of the trail, I fully expected the deer to be there. I stood there looking around and waiting. Until I realized that last “burst” was the final one.
Funny how we always think there will be a next. We seldom know the last moment is the last when it is happening, though Spirit sometimes leaves us clues.
Whether it was the last time or not, I do know I was in a happier place on that walk. I had enjoyed visits with friends in recent weeks and was feeling loved.
Maybe the deer felt that shift and were mirroring it.
Photo thanks to. E.D.
I have heard it said that one butterfly flapping its wings can change the weather pattern miles away. One little flutter can make a big difference. We have all heard this truth in some fashion. But sometimes it really is hard to believe. One small step, one small shift seems just that. Too small to make a difference. Insignificant.
Are you sure about that?! as Byron Katie would say.
Joy had taken over and a monumental result occurred from what seemed like such a small shift. Just moving my legs in a different way, creating new patterns on the path.
Leaving little ripples of joy in the stones.
~ KB