I’ve always loved birds, and took up birding in my early 20s. I got fancy binoculars and learned the names of many. It’s been an activity that has not only kept me in the present moment, but also served to support me in trusting Spirit and trusting my own knowing.

When I was still very ill and the marriage of 22 years I was still in had changed suddenly, I was very confused. Something had changed drastically, but when I asked questions I was told that nothing had changed. Everything in me knew I could no longer trust the person I was living with, but I could not face what had become my reality.

I went to the eye doctor because my vision started becoming blurry randomly. She didn’t see any reason for the eye change. Instead, she asked me what it was that I was not wanting to see.

That day, a screech owl showed up (during the middle of the day). It sat on top of the block wall and stared at me for hours. It was so odd to me. It was unprotected and vulnerable on the wall, small and very visible. Owls started presenting ALL the time during the day. Screech owls, burrowing owls, great horned owls, barn owls. I started going to where I knew great horned owl families were nesting. Because I was ill, I had nothing else to do except lay in the recliner in pain, watching shows or movies as a futile distraction. I started spending hours with the owls, who were teaching me about strength in stillness and right timing. They were helping my nervous system because I was more in the present moment, in awe that these magnificent birds seemed to be tolerating, even welcoming, my presence. I was more in my body. I watched as they had babes, and watched the babes grow and watched first flights.

By being with them, I came to be with myself in a new way. Still in disbelief, but more present, I began to observe the way owls do. They don’t freak out. They observe what’s there. They stay in stillness until the moment when fight or flight is most opportune. They are still but not in freeze. They watch the behavior and movement of the living environment around them. They know their power. And they have incredible vision nearly all around. It took time, but with the help of the owl guides, I started to trust myself again. I started to notice my breath. I started to move slower. I started to honor my body, my emotions, my spirit, my ways of inner knowing, and at some point, my power to create a new reality.

There are many things we can do to be more fully present in the moment, rather than leaving ourselves to go into the past or to worry about a future. I still love to be with birds and wild animals. Many are messengers and guides, fully aware and able to hold higher consciousness while living as a bird, or a coyote, or a tortoise. It is mysterious, powerful, and glorious to be in a present moment with higher awareness (even if at the time we don’t know that’s what is happening). I’ll forever be grateful to the numerous owl messengers who helped me to be brave enough to trust myself and to open to observing the reality before me as well as the reality I needed to reawaken within.