Recently, there have been many important questions to answer. Choices to be made about care for a loved one who is seriously ill, vocation decisions, unexpected travel opportunities, where to live…
When I was younger, I was sure I knew so much. I thought as I ran down a 
country road near our home. Isn’t it funny, I pondered, the older I get, I have less answers and more questions. I hope there is some wisdom in this “not knowing.”
SWOOP! Just as I was musing about this inverse relationship between my age and level of certainty, a large bird flew a few feet in front of me–right at eye level! The wind from his wings kissed my cheek. As he sailed up to a branch over-hanging the road, I stopped running and looked up.
A huge barred owl was staring at me from his perch. I smiled gratefully and we held each other’s gaze for a few minutes. What a treat to see this magnificent creature up close. Instinctively I placed my palms together at my heart in the Namaste position.
“What do you have to teach me brother owl?” I thought, then giggled at myself for being so silly as to ask an owl this question. Girl, you must be really desperate for answers to be asking this BIRD advice.
He turned his head 180 degrees and then flew off into the woods. Resuming my run I remembered the Ranier Maria Rilke quote, “Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it you will live along some distant day into your answers.”
Thank you brother owl, I think I’ll call you Rilke. Namaste
Mary – What a lovely description of what must have been a heart-stopping experience! Thank you. I completely understand what you mean about “the inverse relationship between age and certainty”. For me, the biggest difference is that when I was younger, the “questions” caused much more anxiety. As I have aged (matured?) I find that I am much more comfortable in my own skin than I have ever been…even in the areas where the questions and uncertainty exist. Perhaps that is one of the gifts of aging. God is good!
Sara-I just love that, “much more comfortable in my own skin.” What a gift to move through the years consciously. I’ll try to follow your lead. And yes, it was heart-stopping
Mary, your thoughts go so beautifully with what Richard Rohr is talking about these days, which is, living with paradox. We live with the tension of uncertainty and rest in that. I remember as a child believing that when I grew up I would know all the answers. Wow, what a disappointment *#@&!!.
Thanks, Mary, for your thought provoking stories.
Love you,
Caroline
Hello Rilke! WOW this is a show-stopper! It made me think of phrases like “the cloud of unknowing” and “the wisdom of uncertainty,” associated with the Center, where we can be still, and listen, waiting to know, with great patience. I think you are in what Richard Rohr calls “God’s Waiting Room…where all you can do is wait and ask and trust…where you learn faith and discover that darkness is the much better teacher. God is about to become real.”
And then Owl sent me directly to wisdom from Nature, in Native American and ancient Chinese sources that have come into my consciousness, and which I trust in amazement. Here is what I found. In Native American medicine: “Is it any wonder that in many cultures Owl is a symbol for wisdom? This is because Owl can see that which others cannot, which is the essence of true wisdom. Where others are deceived, Owl sees and knows what is there. You are being asked to use your powers of keen, silent observation to intuit some life situation. Owl is befriending you and aiding you in seeing the total truth. Owl can bring you messages in the night through dreams or meditation. Pay attention to signals and omens. The truth always brings further enlightenment.”
And from the translation of the I Ching (directly from the ancient Chinese oral tradition to English by John Bright-Fey)–by investigating the fact of an Owl stopping you in your tracks, almost brushing you with its wings, and turning you to look it in the face, your eyes connecting) I get Canto #30 for pondering:
FIRE/LIGHT/SUN
The double rising of the sun and moon
Reveals a force flowing from the center
That meets brightness with brightness.
And leaves dark times behind.
The Musing Words to ponder in understanding this Canto are: Wisdom, Intellect, Elegant, Ghostly, Birds, Flames, Wings.
The Mystic Window says: Look for the oppportunity to be clear and direct, yet not pedantic or overpowering. A bright light can cast deep shadows and engender great fear in others. Soften your light but remain enduring. Cultivate optimism and a positive mental outlook of life.
It just happens that the Canto for today in the estoeric calendar, August 26, 2010 (when I am reading and writing this), is the VERY SAME CANTO #30; and that the time in which I have been pondering it, napping and dreaming along, gives also that Canto!!
My mind is blown–which is where we want to get, isn’t it–past the mind into the intuitive realm? Forgive this lenthy reply, but I have to tell you my whole body is tingling with little flames.
God is becoming real for you. “Wait, I say, on the Lord.”
Elizabeth
PS I’m curious to know whether the Owl flew from right to left, or left to right across your path.