We were traveling along the Pungo River and had just entered the Fairfield Canal. The sunrise this morning gave the canal an exotic look. The white light created by the sunrise, at the Eastern most horizon, was cutoff by cloud cover. It appeared as if we were traveling towards a tunnel of light. The water was quiet and peaceful.
We are far enough into North Carolina now for the Canadian Geese to be seen. For the last several hundred miles there have not been birds that travel slowly across our path. Most are quick, active birds like the Comorants I talked about in an earlier post. Angilas, Terns, sea gulls pelicans or osprey with an occasional hawk, or eagle are also sited. It is my understanding that at other times of the year one might see more eagles and hawks.
A pair of geese were making their way , slowly paddling, across the waterway. At this point I was the only one aware this was a family of geese. I had not seen the babies until I went up on the bow. As we approached the spot where the geese were swimming it became apparent to me that we were on a collision course. My view from the bow showed this quite clearly as the boat pushed through the water creating tea colored waves from all of the tannic acid the water contained. I motioned to the man at the helm with hand signals but it was too late.
My moment of enjoyment , watching the happy geese family, was cut short by the powerful bow of the boat as it chopped through the water disturbing the geese. The parents flew up a foot or two out over the water back towards the shore to our right. The babies were unceremoniously sucked into the undertow created by the 50,000 pound sailboat as it reached them. I watched in alarm as the goslings were tipped over, swirled about and became small brown whirlpools in the water!
I felt terrible. My immediate thought was that I should have yelled to the helmsman to turn to the starboard (right ) side. Now I was responsible for the death of these little creatures by poor communication and planning. The parents, who were able to catch the surf of the wave created by the bow, swam too safety. There was no sign of the babies. I imagined them churned up by the prop of the engine.
As the parents headed toward shore, adjusting their feathers, followed by the now quiet, rolling ripples of water created by the parting slice of the boat spreading the width of the channel I figured the babies were forever lost in our wake. Just then, I saw first one little head pop up as the baby goose bobbed up out of the water. This one was followed by two more, they appeared like corks just behind their parents. They turned in unison and resumed there once again quiet journey across the waterway behind us as if nothing had happened. My human thoughts were that they must have been traumatized quickly followed by the thought that it was a lesson that would help them to not panic next time it happened., followed by my realization that this probably was not the first time they had had such an experience.
I have spent a lot of this trip thinking about listening to that inner voice, the one that tells us don’t do that, take care of that, avoid that, stop NOW! It’s the same voice we answer in our heads, and sometimes out loud even, telling ourselves we worry too much, that it will be okay, that we are overreacting, a million responses other than listening to what the inner voice says and acting upon it. I once ran over my pregnant cat because ignored the little voice that told me I had not moved her far way enough from the car. That still haunts me though I know I have been forgiven. I currently endure a severe case of whiplash that acts up when ever I use my neck to work over my head or when I slump over my computer and compress my spine. The day of the whiplash incident I was riding a young horse, who was easily startled. I had just finished ignoring the inner voice that had told me not to button only one button on the Wrangler jeans jacket I was wearing. Lots of falls from horses happen when the horn of the saddle gets hooked up inside short, improperly closed, jackets; the rider cannot sit up to regain their balance. Need I say more?
I will add that it was a very colorful fall. I can vividly remember the dirt being pushed along the grown in front of my eyeglasses in, what seemed like, slow motion. I can also remember the numb, blue fingers that followed and the amusing comments of a man who later told me he was just showing his wife all the holes in the dirt that my body had made. He said it was unbelievable since there was all that dirt moved and no blood! This was long after I had gotten back on my horse like a good cowgirl.
These little messages are often based on common sense, previous happenings, and warnings from our mothers. Many times they are that mysterious yet natural thing we call intuition. We all have but have often have rifted so far from tapping into it. It tries to surface; it struggles, like the geese had to struggle to reach the surface and get our attention. Depending on how loud or clear the voice is it may be our Angels, spiritual guides or God. Depending on the day it may be one of these or all of these. Depending on well we listen for the voice or not, it may be ignored.
In the last few years (yes you guessed it, since the fall off the horse) I have tried very hard to listen to each inner message and act upon it. Sometimes I feel like I am overdoing it, being too cautious, especially with little things like putting a dish away too close to the edge. Well, those dishes have crashed and broken often enough for me to realize there is something too this. I figure if I test my theory with the little things like dishes falling, I will be really listening when the big items come along.
Today, I almost cost three baby geese their lives because I did not act quickly or at least clearly enough. If I take steps in my life to listen harder , speak more clearly and take action when I hear that inner voice the waves created by my wake will be the softer, gentler ones that only ripple on the shoreline and caress God’s creatures, me included, instead of causing them to get lost in my wake.
I would love to hear your stories, what has have you “heard” lately? Please leave a note in the comments area if you wish. I know there are many of you noticing these kinds of things along with me.
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