I am a curious person who is usually walking around, eyes wide and taking all the information in around me. This generally results in me seeing and then pointing out things that may be missed by other people. Yesterday, as my daughter and I neared the front door of a cinder block building, I noticed something nestled in the corner about 8 feet above me. I figured it was a bird. However, on closer inspection it was a cluster of bats – I guessed it to be a mama and her baby.
Because the ceiling was lower, there was a false sense of being able to reach out and touch the furry little creatures and, of course, my daughter – the animal lover – said, “Oh Momma! They’re so cuuuuuuuuute! I wanna take them home with me.” No amount of me talking to her about them being nocturnal would dissuade her, but in the end, I won out with the wild-animals-belong-in-the-wild stance and she relented.
When we exited the building about 2.5 hours later, the little bundle was still there, cozied up and looking all adorable. She and I stood there cooing and admiring the cuteness, drawing the attention of others who had left the building without focusing on anything but getting to their car in the bloody heat. A few people stopped to gaze up for about 3.6 seconds before darting off. Kait and I, however, lingered for quite awhile, drinking in the miracle of being witness to one of nature’s elusive creatures.
The first thing I did when I got home was what I tend to do when an unusual animal crosses my path and gets my attention: I got out my Animal Speak book to read about bats. Interestingly enough, there is a plethora of information about bats because of the myriad of myths and beliefs about them. Also, appropriately so, they are the totem of “transition and initiation.”
I wasn’t surprised to discover that my furry little friends are linked with these two qualities as I’ve witnessed my life becoming a dance between what once was and what is coming. As life has sped up and my awareness is expanding in spades, I have felt myself stretching and, at times, wanting to hibernate, but the call to come out, be seen, be heard and be awake just gets stronger. Bats are a call to face into your fears and that, too, seems to fit right in with what I’ve been experiencing in my life. I’ve learned that facing away from the fears does not negate the fears as humans tend to hope, but, rather, it increases them. Because of that understanding, I commit to facing into the fears, following divine guidance and nudges to move through the fears and then being grateful and appreciative when I’ve reached the other side and have acknowledged the blessing within that fear.
The closing sentence of the section about bats stuck with me all night last night: “Bat is powerful medicine. It can be trying at times, but it always indicates initiation – A new beginning that brings promise and power after the changes.”
Okay, Bat! Bring! It! On!
