The Free Radical

Wow! Momentous! What didn’t happen today?

At the first lookout, less than a half hour into my walk, I was greeted by Richard (Turkey Vulture), keeper of the New Vision. This was our closest interaction ever. He’s usually way up above spiralling out his effortless antics with a certain aloofness. This time however, he was very close to the Earth careening around the cliffs and hoodoos overlooking the river.

“The New Vision is ready for final anchoring into the Earth. Although it is a grand new storyline, the details and plot twists have yet to be worked out moment by moment. It is in your hands now. Please remember that your arms don’t grow out from your ears. No, your hands are extensions of your hearts; let your actions be thus too.”

The next fifteen minutes of my journey I spent mostly foraging flowers and rose hips by the power line. That’s the main reason I didn’t have my camera ready when I came upon my first encounter with Coyote. He was standing at the crossroads apparently waiting for me. We exchanged pleasantries, but as I retrieved my GoPro from my pack, he wandered into the long grass to become invisible. I asked him to come back, but he quipped “On another day.” His message in this moment was brief and to the point.

“Much is being revealed… deceptions within deceptions. Take no disclosure at face value. When liars are cornered and confronted, they will concede a partial truth– or many– in hopes of preserving a more fundamental lie. Trickster energy is afoot!”

Alright, warning noted. My next encounter occurred about two minutes later. A Grouse hen stood in the pathway exactly where I needed to go. I explained to her my need to get by and she pranced a few feet to the left. I scooted by so close I nearly brushed her tail feathers with my leg. She was completely unconcerned. Grouse’s message too was rather succinct.

“The time is now. Robust rhythms fulfil their cycle. All the preceding moves have been made. Let the Grand Pageant begin!”

My next encounter was just a few minutes ahead. It was particularly odd since I didn’t really know who I was dealing with… but I can offer a guess.

You’re probably wondering what the hell that is! It was lying directly on my path, and all I know for sure is that it was a chunk of someone’s hide. The speaker’s voice suggested Deer.

“The fur will begin to fly… but for all the commotion and bluster, the violence will not be fatal. We are entering a New Adventure– together. Some will be required to lessen their armaments and insulating shields. The blinders must come off as we each feel our way into novelty… appearances will not do.”

Is this getting interesting or what? And we’re not done yet!

The final interesting encounter occurred down by the river. Just to the right of my path there lay the remains of a wasp’s nest. The papery shrapnel of its demise littered the forest to an unbelievable degree. It must’ve been huge!

I commented to myself in my mind about the destruction of their paper house. This sparked an association with a song I wrote years ago, but which my bandmates are currently working on with me: Collapsing Paper Mansion. (This video is a rough copy as I presented it to my bandmates, complete with lyrics.)

The character in the song, Little Sparrow, is another central figure in my Muse Trilogy. The “paper mansion” referred to in the song is the bureaucratic house of cards at the centre of our global culture. The chorus line, “Paper mansion falling down,” couldn’t be more clearly depicted than it is in the exploded wasp’s nest.

You may recall that I was initiated into Forest Life by Wasp. Then, later, in a recent post involving Spider, Wasp came to represent the patriarchal power structure and its imminent demise. Spider asked us to essentially reset all of our relations in light of new information.

This is becoming quite the detailed message, wouldn’t you say? Keep an eye on world events and view them through the filters presented here… and we’ll see how this all washes out.