White Dove Re-Visit

**I found this image from a website called Greater Goods (greatergoodsonline.com). They appear to be a pretty cool site, selling merchandise from artists the world over, buying from companies who support Fair Trade. Check them out if you have a chance.**

The day before yesterday I was outside looking for White Dove; although I know she will eventually make her way to another location I have grown used to her presence and am enjoying her daily visits. At first I didn't see her. Then, I noticed her perched on the roof of one of the homes across from us, looking down at a fellow who was looking up at her. I saw him point her out to his friend, who glanced at her briefly, apparently too occupied with her own day to take notice of this super cool bird. Later, I went outside to bring our trash to the dumpster and spotted White Dove soaring with a pack of pigeons, her white body a pretty contrast to the blue of the autumn sky and to the dark bodies of the birds with whom she was flying. Yesterday morning one of the two meditational books I read on a daily basis contained a reading about animal spirits and how they sometimes enter our lives bearing a message of some sort. I thought about what sort of message White Dove might be relaying to me, and considered the sight of her flying freely through the sky, oblivious to the differences between her and her flying companions. She cared not that she was different from her fellow birds, no self-consciousness held her back from gliding through the warm October air. I smiled to myself, thinking that sometimes -not always, but sometimes- I suffer from the malady of self consciousness. My religious beliefs are different from those of mainstream society, my appearance can sometimes reach the boudaries of artsiness, my thoughts run deeper than those of so many of the people I meet during the day (I mean, come on-I've been going on about this bird for days!!). Sometimes I feel like I landed here many years ago from another country on some other plane of existence. I know that I need to watch those feelings of "apartness", lest they deter me from growing, from participating fully in life, from using the gifts I've been given to the fullest and for the greatest good. In the same vein, I cannot afford to let fear separate me from a spiritual path that is deeply meaningful and extraordinarily special to me , or to allow apprehension to keep me from passing this wonderful tradition on to my daughter, thereby depriving her of some of the richness of the things I've learned from it (and will continue to learn). White Dove did not arrive yesterday, but she visited us today. I fed her some bread and thanked her for her gift.