Two surprises and warm sunshine began my day. Because it was such a beautiful day I headed out to the deck to soak up some vitamin D while I meditated. As always, I begin my meditation with some quick energy tune-ups. When I got to my heart chakra I could tell it felt a bit closed. Focusing on my heart center, I began to bring my emotions to a feeling of joy and gratitude…guaranteed to open the heart. As I was doing this, my cat Red who had been laying on the deck, jumped into my lap and immediately began rubbing his head into my heart and then began kneading it as well. Then he looked directly into my eyes and said, “I can help with this”. “Why do you think we cats are always laying on your chests… the heart chakra is our specialty”. And just like that, the weight I had felt lifted and my heart expanded out. Red lay on my lap for just a few more moments then jumped down and resumed his spot on the deck. I thanked Red for his loving assistance and went back to my meditation.
The next surprise came when I saw an animal coming into my minds eye, first thinking it was a fox and then realizing no, it was larger and had spots. I was transported to the plains of East Africa when I realized it was a female Hyena with her cubs. Having never talked with Hyena before I was anxious to learn what she wanted to share.
Hyena: See my beautiful babies?
Wendy: Yes, they are beautiful…and so very active. (I could see them romping and jumping around rocks, rolling with each other and just generally being very mischievous).
Hyena: See how I watch over them? But notice that I let them play…I let them make mistakes…I let them fall and tumble. I want them to learn to be independent. I want them to learn how to learn from their instincts.
I show you this to help you understand the importance of allowing young ones to explore, to sometimes get a bump or bruise and to learn from their own observation.
Of course I teach by example too. They know when I have stopped to be quiet, listen and smell. They begin to understand the importance of being aware of their surroundings. This will keep them safe and fed.
Some skills I will teach them directly. I will show them how to do certain things like what to do with a kill and how to share with others.
We Hyenas know that there is plenty for all and that sometimes we share with others and they share with us. This way nothing is ever wasted and all are taken care of.
If you are ever in a dilemma about guidance for a child or a friend, call on me. I am very wise this way and I will help you turn your dilemma into laughter.
Wendy: Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It has been very interesting.
Her message about letting the cubs learn from their instincts reminded me of a conversation I had with some friends. All of us are in that 50’s age group and as we reminisce about our childhoods we marvel at how much freedom we had. Today our parents would have been chastised for what we were allowed to do.
As the youngest of four girls, I would head out with my sisters (ages 6-11) to spend an entire day exploring in the Arboretum in Madison. No one ever worried that we couldn’t take care of ourselves. When I was seven I remember riding my bicycle to the dentist with my oldest sister. It was about three miles. At age 11 my mother would drop my sister and I off at the stables where we boarded our horse and we would spend the entire day there…and riding the horses through the streets of Madison…without any adult supervision.
While it is true our world today is different and it might be necessary to be more cautious with children than our parents were, it is also true that having that independence taught all of us some very important life skills. We were able to listen to our instincts and develop our intuition. We learned discernment. We learned to think. And mostly we learned to laugh and have fun.