I met a coyote on the road. I was walking along, alone on a moonlit night, amazed and entertained by the play of light on the massive, red rock boulders rising hundreds of feet above me. They rose there like they were alive, peaceful, yet powerful and meaningful. As I was contemplating this, out of the desert brush comes a coyote.
He is quiet. He says hi, but nothing more. He joins me by my side, to my right. We walk in silence for about five minutes, maybe a quarter mile. At that point, he jumps ahead of me, almost as if to block my path, compelling me to stop.
Coyote looks up at the sky. I follow along with my eyes. The moon is in it’s ninth night since the new moon of October 14th. That was the day of the eclipse. Coyote must have been reading my mind because, just as I thought about the eclipse, he said to me, “That eclipse was truly magical.” He spoke with certainty. “All eclipses are special to coyotes. They touch us in a magical way our soul.” He enthusiastically told me the night sky is one of his favorite things about living here, living in this desert environment. “There are more stars in the heavens than there have been coyotes alive through all time.” he claimed. “This is true of humans, too,” he added as he took his eyes away from the sky and glanced at me for a second, just long enough to make eye contact. “You cannot count the number of stars in the sky, yet it is said that the depth of coyote soul is as deep as the number of stars is large. I don’t know if that is true, but I feel it is when I embrace the sky. It is as a magnet to my eyes and into my spirit. What do humans say?”
As he spoke, I felt as if my heart filled with warmth, with some kind of joy. It was amazing how I felt, kind of overwhelmed with a good feeling inside, overcome with a sense of happiness.
The outlines of rocks were traced with moonbeams, a magical silhouette against a darker sky. The contrast of rock and sky was a beautiful thing, perfectly drawn and colored, raw and rugged. Inspiring.
Coyote turned back to me. He said, “It’s interesting that, even an hour ago, you did not know you would be taking this walk. You were sitting and writing, and maybe ready to turn in for the night, but you decided to go for a walk. And look how it turned out! Quite a remarkable night! Of course, they all are, none less than the others, though some are more visually dramatic than others. Tonight is, well, it is quite exhilarating.”
We continued along the road, walking gradually uphill, the road twisting through a scrub brush landscape lit up by the moon, the rocks towering above us on our left, open desert to our right with another mountain range a few miles away. We came upon another campground in the park, Arch Rock, where the road turned to dirt.
There was the sound of talking and some laughter. There were several campfires visible, their yellow-orangish flames dancing, little beacons of gatherings. There were some children playing some kind of games at one site. There was music, a quietly strummed single guitar and singing at another site, several voices peacefully flowing out to us. As we continued on the campground road, it rose up and did several turns. Here, the campsites seemed almost hidden in the rock. Campers could back their vehicles into openings that were like shelters among boulders.
That dirt road came back out to the paved road. We turned right on it, heading back the way we had come. We arrived at a point where he said we should stop and look up at the sky again, to really see the stars and appreciate them, their wonder and presence. He said, “Close your eyes, and continue to see them, visualize them, as though they are part of you, part of your soul. They have great energy, stars do, and you can tap into it, just as you can feel the energy of the Sun on your skin on a bright day. It is strong.”
Then he continued by telling me that this energy, exhibited by the stars and nature in general, was indistinct from the energy of love, compassion and kindness, and of survival. He said “You should use this energy to guide your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Use it to energize yourself in all you do. It’s not easy, but it is possible if you work at it with commitment and practice.”
As he said this, I heard an owl calling, which made me smile. I opened my eyes to share a happy thought with coyote. I turned to him as I was talking, but coyote was gone! There was just me on the road. Amazed and a little bewildered, I continued my way back to my campsite, listening to owl hooting, keeping me company along the way. I arrived back and sat for a minute in my chair, taking in the sky and the experience I had just had. In the distance I could barely make it out, I heard the yelping of coyote …
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