I am Coyote ~ Who are you?
Photo by: Jen Ritchie
One year, after finishing my Coyote presentation at the Cape Elizabeth Library, a man who had been sitting in the back of the room came up to me, and introducing himself as Charlie, told me that he liked my talk; that it was balanced. What did he mean by balanced? …………….. So he invited me to come give my talk to the South Portland Hunting Club’s yearly meeting in the Autumn of that year. And of course, I answered Yes.
In October I made my way to their meeting which included a supper for a large hall full of men. And after having time to talk with the cook and have dinner with several them, I presented my talk. I brought along some educational materials I create for community members, and they took everything I brought along. The president of their club thanked me, but informed me that I did not change his attitude about Coyotes. This I understood, as each person perceives life on our planet in their own way. They make the decision and no one makes it for them.
Come the end of November, Charlie called me. His first words were “You saved a Coyote’s life.” He went on to tell me about one of the hunters that was at my talk and his experience while hunting a deer. He had been driving slowly down a logging road when a young female coyote walked out of the forest and stood there in the middle of the road, looking at him.
His immediate response was to take out his rifle and shoot her…….right? See a Coyote, kill a Coyote! And just as he was ready to pull the trigger, and these were his own words “I thought of that lady….” And while he was still holding his rifle, both he and the young Coyote looked at each other for a few minutes …. What seemed like forever. Then she disappeared into the forest again.
He sat there, holding his rifle ….. then laid it down.
When he arrived back in South Portland, he sought Charlie out and had to tell him what happened. Charlie shared with me that this hunter had such a great need to share his experience, that he told many other hunters what happened too. He couldn’t hold it in.
So what did he mean that he “thought of that lady”? Yes, he was referring to me, but what was he really referring to? Had he ever been exposed to a different way of looking at a Coyote before? Did something begin to change for him as he heard a different voice? Was he ready possibly to be open?
Powerful experiences as the one this man had are a challenge to express in our human words, even for the person who experiences them. They go beyond the workings of our human brain to a part of us that is much deeper and more connected to other intelligent life on our planet.
Coyote teaches us much about ourselves, even when we are not looking ……
