A Cat Nap Miracle
Rainbow Medicine-Walker
©
Copyright 2024 by Rainbow Medicine-Walker
|
Image by 12019 from Pixabay |
We
had an early spring that year which did not stick. The nesting
songbirds were back but dawn came in frosty and gray that day. I
bundled up in my red and orange woolen poncho to hike the mountain
for sunrise ceremony. I prefer to blend with the environment, but
bright colors were required so I would stand out, in case any of the
locals who liked to randomly shoot about in the woods was feeling
frisky. The climb was steep and I was tired, so when I reached the
viewpoint I did what I often do, lie down in a relatively flat spot
to take a brief rest.
I
was quite warm from huffing uphill, so I wrapped my poncho tightly
around myself and curled up in a ball. As I relaxed into the peace of
this familiar place, I could hear the creek rushing by filled with
snowmelt, down in the ravine off to the side. A few feathered fluffs
were chirping and flitting about noisily in the dry underbrush,
searching for breakfast.
I’m
not sure how long I had been drifting on the edge of sleep, when
something, I don’t know what exactly, made me come alert. I
didn’t move as I was too relaxed, but I did open my eyes and
instantaneously my gaze was caught and held by the eyes of a large,
healthy and equally frozen in place male bobcat. He was about 6 feet
from my head, standing statue still, caught with one front paw raised
ready to take the next step toward me, when my opening eyes must have
startled him.
We
stared directly at each other for at least a full minute; an out of
time moment which felt infinitely longer. I was too entranced to feel
afraid and I had the sense the bobcat was not quite sure what to do.
He quivered with muscles bunched as though primed to spring onto or
over me, but was perilously undecided.
I
just looked and thirstily drank in this stunning magnificent being
who had suddenly appeared; the reality of which my dazed mind could
not logically process. All coherent thought had ceased and I was
stripped down to pure essential wonder and sensation. The bobcat’s
head seemed enormous to me. Perhaps because I was lying down and he
was rather close or maybe the head really was unusually large. I
remember that his brown striped body with tawny under belly seemed to
stretch on and on and his raised paw appeared to be bigger than the
palm of my own hand.
I
noticed these things through my peripheral vision as I never looked
away from his eyes. I wish I could adequately describe them. All the
adjectives seem worn and tired when confronted with the wild primal
fierceness that revealed itself to me through those eyes.
They
were golden with black pupils that pierced the core of things with
unending depth. There were flecks of other colors scattered among the
gold; a hint of green or blue perhaps, definitely some brown. To say
they were otherworldly is a laughable understatement. It was as
though all of nature had been encapsulated into a single enduring
contact. Universes were born, stars went supernova and comets
extinguished themselves while eternity passed between us.
I
carefully raised my head slightly with an unconscious desire to see
more clearly, and instantly the bobcat made his decision. Without
ever looking away from me he began to slowly back up the trail one
paw at a time. It was elegant to witness and in my sharpened
awareness it appeared that each paw had a distinct and separate
intelligence which was communicating itself to the ground beneath it.
He
backed perhaps a hundred feet up the path before turning and leaping
lithely into the surrounding forest. As I watched him slowly recede
up the hill, I came back to myself and conscious thought returned. I
had marked the spot where the bobcat retreated into the brush and
excitement filled me at the thought of tracking this elusive
creature.
I
got up, shook myself, both metaphorically and literally and walked up
the trail to see if I could spot anything interesting. There were a
few large boulders strewn about, some with tantalizing glimpses of
potential cavities underneath. I had a thought that perhaps the
bobcat had a den somewhere around there. I briefly considered
searching for it and then decided that no, I wanted to hug this
precious connection to myself and simply be grateful. I did not want
to chase this fellow being and invade his privacy.
This
event has never lost its magical quality, although later I did doubt
my own perceptions in regards to how large the bobcat actually was.
That is until a few months afterwards when I was walking in an open
river drainage twenty miles or so distant from my previous encounter
and spotted another bobcat, standing in the water, surrounded by
slick grayish stones reflecting sparkles of luminous light. Some
unknown something again made me turn around and look back down the
river from whence I had just come. I saw a large cat, about a hundred
feet away, standing in full glorious sun while staring fixedly up
river directly at me. This time I had something to judge relative
scale by because I knew approximately how large the boulder he was
standing next to was, since I had just been sitting there about 5
minutes previous.
At
first I thought it must be a cougar, it was so big. Then as he moved,
possibly trying to get wind of my scent, I got a good look at the
spots and stripes of his coat and at his ears and tail. It was
definitely a very large bobcat. I was sure it was not a lynx, because
of those telltale spots and stripes. Also we supposedly do not have
lynx in this area. I say supposedly because we really do not know as
much about the habits and territories of wild creatures as we like to
think we do. This later sighting confirmed for me though that we did
indeed have some very large bobcats nearby.
Needless
to say I was delighted to have interacted with two such gorgeous
cats. In the years since, I have spotted a few other bobcats fleeing
away from my car as I was driving by. None as large and none that I
felt such a profound connection with.
Some
like to dismiss direct wild animal to human communication as
anthropomorphism. While I understand the desire not to project human
ideas onto other species, in my opinion it is arrogant and silly to
deny such communication exists since we obviously have so much in
common with the other creatures we share this amazing planet with. I
believe that both bobcats communed briefly with me and that we
exchanged something tangible. You can call it energy, spirit or just
a simple acknowledgement of each other’s existence.
I
learned much from the native elders of my youth about the wisdom and
power of nature. I’m not sure we can ever fully know a wild
being, but I am certain that everything on this earth is in some kind
of conversation with every other thing; whether we understand it or
not. We are each given gifts of opportunity to stop and absorb what
the natural world is trying to tell us. I have found it is always
worthwhile to embrace and appreciate those opportunities.
Science
has ‘discovered’ that trees talk with each other through
their roots. I wonder how long it will be before we finally
‘discover’ that our entire landscape is speaking to us
all the time, we only need to listen.
Rainbow
Medicine-Walker is an enrolled member of the federally recognized
Cherokee Nation. She is the granddaughter of Cherokee Admiral JJ
Clark, Chief Water Dweller and Chief Thunderbird. She is a veteran,
elder and ceremonial leader. Rainbow writes to tell the truth to
herself and share with others who resonate.
(Unless
you
type
the
author's name
in
the subject
line
of the message
we
won't know where to send it.)
Book
Case
Home
Page
The
Preservation Foundation, Inc., A Nonprofit Book Publisher