Deer me...

One afternoon last week, I felt the unrelenting need to go spend time in the woods. I decided to go to the Nature Center near town. When I arrived, I was the only car there - until right when I was getting on the trail, a truck pulled in. There are multiple trails to wander, yet this person and his dog seemed to be on the same brain wave as me. I was randomly taking trails with the idea of arriving at a new trail that I'd been wanting to check out. I walk pretty fast and figured I'd lose them and could relax and just be one with Nature. It seemed that I had succeeded as I made my way to the new loop trail that takes you up and around a small hill. At the top of the hill is a very small patch of pine trees. I love pines, I always feel peaceful in their presence. I very much needed to experience that peace.

As I made my way up to the patch of pines, I noticed a group of 6 deer. Of course, once they realized I was there, they started to run off. I stopped to take it all in and realized that the largest of the deer was maybe 25 feet away, opposite me and staring right at me. Whenever I've encountered deer, they always stand sideways and eye me up that way. This one was staring head on. We locked our gaze for what seemed like a minute and I instinctively dropped my head and looked to the side so as to not be perceived as a threat. I didn't look away long as my gaze was drawn back to its eyes. The deer just stood there and moved its tail a bit. I knew that this was all a message for me, but I also sensed that it might be thinking of charging - standing its ground. That's when it turned around and the whole group ran in the opposite direction. I walked a couple more feet and stood amongst the pines, reveling in my deer experience and breathing in that peace, when I was interrupted by that man with the dog walking by. Jeez, not only did he interrupt my peaceful moment in the pines, he must have been the one who scared off the deer as he had come up the part of the loop they were on. He ruined two magical moments!

Since my face is an open book of whatever I'm feeling, I'm sure he thought, what a grumpy, unpleasant woman. He continued on his way. I stayed there with the pines for a while trying to sort out and gain clarity on some of the challenges of life that I've been facing. I didn't see the man and his dog again, nor did I see the deer. As I hiked out, I realized - there are no coincidences. There are many trails, yet he took the ones that led him up that hill, interrupting - yes, a magical moment - but also a potentially dangerous one. I was upset my peaceful alone time in the pines was interrupted, yet thanks to them - no harm came to pass with the deer.

I tend to receive a lot of messages via Nature. It's one of my favorite ways to receive guidance. It always brings me joy when messages come through via a butterfly, a duck, a bird, a rainbow or whatever shows up when I'm having a session with a client. There's such an energy about them, that you just know they're there for a reason. That day, I received quite a few messages that provided me with greater clarity and I also re-learned a very important lesson - sometimes those who disturb our peace, are there for a greater purpose.

When I made it back to the parking lot, his truck was gone. I closed my eyes and sent him and his dog many thanks and blessings for playing their role - a role that perhaps they weren't even aware of. I was reminded that we react to situations from our experiences and the emotions that we're holding. There is always a bigger picture and other view points. I realized that I need to do more clearing work on the emotions that I'm holding as they are disrupting my peace. I'm grateful I was able to recognize what happened that day for what it was. Instead of just an interrupted walk where I saw some neat things, it was one full of beautiful messages and lessons.

Find your peace. Love, Adrienne :)