Ponder this:

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Nature is man's teacher.

Nature is man's teacher.  She unfolds her treasures to his search, unseals his eye, illumes his mind, and purifies his heart; an influence breathes from all the sights and sounds of her existence.  ~Alfred Billings Street
On my way to work on Friday morning I surprised a flock of thirty wild turkeys having a block party in the middle of my country road.  I say "thirty," but that's simply an estimate. Trying to count turkeys while they're doing their "Oh My Feathers Here Comes A Behemoth Let's Get The Flock Out Of Here" scurry is a little tricky.  
Most of them moved en masse into the woods to my right. Two didn't know which side of the road would be the better choice and spent a couple of seconds weighing their options. One finally quick-strutted off after the crowd, and the other, whom I was trying to herd, very slowly and gently, with the car ("I suggest that I drive over here; you go that way.") decided that taking to the air was the best idea.  I watched him (I think it was a jake, an immature male) rise almost straight up, with those wide strong wings stretched out, the feathers spread. Twenty feet above the road, between the bordering trees, he turned in a circle and headed toward his flock. I lost sight of him as he flew into and among the bare branches. 




I smiled: This is what It is about. This goes on
"Wild turkey teaches us about the need to cultivate skills of cunning and agility. It is important to know how to read your environment and react in a way that preserves your way of life; this involves noticing that a certain situation has the potential to get dangerous for you, and knowing how to extricate yourself from it safely - and unnoticed where possible. Wild turkey is excellent at teaching people how to avoid arguments and unnecessary confrontation, through using skills of observation, cunning and agility."
"Like all animal helpers, this animal will only appear when right and appropriate, and cannot be forced to visit you, commune with you, or share messages with you. In places where the wild turkey lives, you may find that the wild turkey seeks you out through a chance encounter. Wild turkeys are more than capable of disappearing from view, so sighting one (especially more than once) can represent the relevance of wild turkey's lessons in your life."  ~ Wild Turkey Lessons and Challenges
Listen: I know there are turkeys galore in these fields, but I don't remember ever having come upon so many at such a short distance. 
And listen: I know that this totem stuff might be a bunch of hooey.
But then again . . . interestingly, my workday was quite unusually pleasant. 

13 comments:

Wanda..... said...

Glad you had a pleasant day at work. We have flocks of 30-40 visit our property ever so often. They roost overnight back in our woods.

Lord Wellbourne said...

I, too, have often encountered these winged road blocks. The lessons they teach me consist of 'slow down, there's nowhere you need to be in any kind of hurry'. The only wild turkey I ever encountered before returning to Maine was in a glass. I like this feathered version much better.

Totems, portents, 'signs'--whatever works to give you a respite to reflect is all good.

Von said...

What a great post and a great reminder.Gosh! I wish we had these chaps in our neck of the woods! Course we have others who fill the same role and they're intertesting too.Love turkeys and not to eat.

Jinksy said...

I love that turkey lesson. What a pity we don't have any round here in UK! I find the whole animal totem thing fascinating - would like to find mine.:)

Friko said...

Our turkeys come on farms and they all live behind bars.

We have kamikaze pheasants though, but even they are bread deliberately, for shooting. May of them get away and live to tell the tale another day.

Barb said...

I believe you were smiling (outwardly and inwardly) from this encounter, June, and it affected your attitude and changed the way you viewed the wider world. Each day on the way to work, focus on finding something that makes you smile. Who knows if it will work, but it's worth a try!

June said...

I'm sure that a sight of Nature Doing Nature's Thing was healing for me...I've seen so little of birds or animals for months. So, Barb, you're right.

Lord Wellbourne said...

I'm going to ship the humongous bobcat and the three squirrels that have been playing 'cat and mouse' with each other in my back yard to you. Then you can revel in watching "nature do nature's thing" for the better part of every day! Oh, and you can keep the Tupperware container they'll be arriving in.

June said...

I 'preciate the thought, LW, but the squirrels would be chased by the dogs and join their local fellows out of sight in the trees.

The bobcat would go off into the hardwoods and I'd never see him either.

But I do love Tupperware, so feel free to send that!

Lord Wellbourne said...

Fine! I'll just put myself into a container as soon as I find one that matches what I'm wearing and mail myself to you! What goes with chartreuse?

June said...

Fuschia.

June said...

Further thought: Chartreuse is, more or less, a naturally-occurring color, in leaves, fish, etc. My belief is that natural colors may be considered neutrals, and therefore, go with any other color.
But don't ship yourself by bus. (mid-60s Mothers of Invention)

Lord Wellbourne said...

That does it--moss it is. Nice contrast. Bus? I'll go UPS. The brown colour will blend nicely with the wood note ensemble.