My Spirit Guide


I have always secretly believed that my spirit guide was a panther. But a wolf or an orca whale would do, even a great horned owl.

I finally decided to find out. So I went on a vision quest. I prepared with a sweat lodge and three day fast. My teacher smoked my chakras with sage. Then I hiked to a secret place in the mountains.

For the first few hours, I did just fine. Then a scratching sound in the bottom of my pack distracted me from meditation. I hissed and the mouse skittered away.

Several more hours went by in the all-night vigil. But my deep silence was broken by that same fussy gnawing sound. I shook the mouse out of my pack again.

Dawn came, a kaleidoscope, a silent pastel explosion in the Eastern sky. I felt so blessed, and sensed that my vision was immanent. Certainly it would be an elk, horns racked in a glitter of sunbeams. Or a bear, shining black and huge among the blueberries. But not even a raven circled in the sky. I was visited by nothing.

Wearily I picked up my pack. It felt so light. I must have fallen asleep in the hour before dawn, because that little visitor, the scrawny thief, had opened a gaping hole to finish off all my snacks and trail mix. I had utterly failed. Felt like I was running on empty....

I hiked home and visited my teacher that evening. Embarrassed and belittled, I told the teacher every meaningless detail of my failed quest. Finally I said, "Guess I wasn't worthy of a vision: I have no animal guide."

The teacher smiled with twinkling eyes and said, "Yes you do. In fact, your fuzzy little spirit guide is a wise and mighty being, who taught you the deepest lesson."



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