Magical Moments In Amazing Nature - A Close Encounter with a Wild White-Tailed Deer

'Close Encounter with a Wild White-Tailed Deer'

With a determined and fearless 2-year-old Raven leading the way, we came almost within touching distance of this White-tailed Deer during a trip to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, in Autumn 2004...

'Spot the Wild White-Tailed Deer'

The beautiful wild doe was alert but calm as we slowly and respectfully approached, clearly assessing us as unthreatening.

'Wild White-Tailed Deer, Meet Jay and Raven'

Having covered about half the original distance between us, I was pretty sure this completely wild white-tail would bolt if we continued to advance. "Let's sit here", I whispered, patting the ground gently. Raven, however, had other ideas...

'Eh, These Humans Seem OK To Me...'

As Raven insisted on moving onwards, the doe remained completely unfazed, her body language communicating relaxation and even curiosity. I quickly caught up with my confident toddler, who obviously had a better grasp on the situation than Mama!

After watching us approach up the incline toward her, the doe continued about her business with no signs of being disconcerted. We sat down just a few feet away from her, time standing still to enfold us in the mesmerising embrace of the Now. Eyeing us with interest as we sat enchanted in her presence, the doe eventually meandered off in search of greener pastures... (Note: We were really very close for (I'm guessing) a couple of minutes - so close that I could have touched her at one point, she came so near to us. I wish our companion had gotten photos of this, but he was so taken aback and captivated that he completely froze).

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Magical moments like this have been prevalent throughout my life.

It's been an honour to share them with Raven, nurturing and promoting an innate connection with the natural world and our brothers and sisters of all species. This ability is a gift I believe I was born with, and perhaps even born to share...? I can tell you with certainty that it has carried me through the trials and tribulations of life in the world of man. The daily practice of connecting to the natural world has been quite literally life-saving, gifting me with a sense of belonging which is so vital for health on every level.

You see, while loving and longing to be loved by humanity, I've rarely felt that I belonged amongst humans - rarely felt accepted or acceptable. This stems from early life trauma, in part due to the more 'unusual' of my abilities being labelled as 'crazy', or 'storytelling', or even lies, as they unfolded during childhood. Being punished, shamed, mocked, ridiculed and accused of lying for being who I am did not diminish the authenticity of my experiences and characteristics, but it often impeded the expression of them or diverted them into self-destructive avenues. I learned to hide them, to keep them to myself. Being taught that my natural tendencies were flaws in my character led to confusion, hurt, ostracisation and feelings of underlying 'wrongness'.

This sense of being an 'imposter amongst men' is felt by many - is, in fact, an epidemic - but it is not the truth and does not serve us well.

The pain that feelings of alienation generate is a clear signal that they are not in alignment with our essential nature.

When practised and developed in life-serving ways, our innate talents (whatever they may be) are ever-increasing blessings and strengths. This includes those which fall outside of societal norms, like 'talking to animals', or 'seeing dead people'...

Within Inches of another Wild Friend - Spud the Field Vole

Happily, I know now that many other human beings resonate with these experiences. If you're reading these words, you may well be one of them. Either way, I hope I can encourage you to cherish and cultivate the innocence and wonder within you. The armour we have built to protect those vulnerable qualities has helped us survive challenges and adversity, but it can be gratefully relinquished once it is no longer required.

Feelings of contraction can fuel the exploration of expansion, and aid us in the discovery (or rediscovery) of who and what we truly are. Serving as indicators that we need to reconnect to the truth of our being, every sensation of 'wrongness' is a reminder to honour ourselves, to love ourselves, more and more and more.

We are brave and strong and true.

We are perfectly imperfect.

Unique cells in the body of humankind, we are interdependent companions on the journey of a lifetime.

Let's embrace our essential nature as we've never done before. ❤️

With love,

Jay

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DISCLAIMER: Please don't try this at home! Viewed from an everyday perspective, this type of activity could potentially be dangerous. I've been practising getting close to wild animals for the best part of 5 decades. It's really is a kind of magic. I know when it's happening, from experience. And when the magic happens, safety is assured...
(I guess you can see why my parents thought I was crazy as a child!)

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I hope you've enjoyed this post. As an independent, self-employed, self-financing creative (and radically unschooling single Mama), your support, kind-ness, and appreciation of my always-original content are most welcome! Please feel free to comment, upvote, Resteem or otherwise share this post if you feel called to do so.

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All photos and content are original work by the author, Jay Taylor Art. Please contact me if you would like to request permission to use them in any way.

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This post also serves as my entry into @adalger's #amazingnature contest, a new weekly showcase for nature photography and encounters on Steemit.