Witnessing Transformation in our Everyday life
The Raven Became a Hummingbird
If more and more people focus their energy into positivity, self-love, self-care and personal growth, and we individually become more balanced and happy, in turn we will have more to give to others. Then we can make the world a better place! But where can we start? Personally, I like to listen for my transformations.
The world around you speaks – can you hear it? I started noticing the small, silly synchronicities that life throws at us. The coincidences: bumping into the same person repeatedly, the “oh that’s weird, the funniest thing happened to me today”, or “I saw 3 rainbows while I was driving home, what are the chances?” These fun little treasures are the universe’s whispers, asking you to stop, listen and look around for what may be a lesson, advice, or guidance.
Let me share a story and keep in mind that these little stories happen to me ALL the time! Every day in fact. Some are more intricate and thought provoking like this one and some are a mere moment in time. I have opened myself to allow these whispers to be heard.
I am following the river, my first time back on this trail since the west coast fall rains have set in. The river is swollen and churning, spilling up over the rocky bank. My dog Bell could care less as she splashes in, diving with her paws like a cat hunting a mouse, with nothing but fun to be caught. Another month and I won’t let her play in the water. With more rain, it will get deeper and faster, ready to drag anything that challenges it away. We continue upriver for a few more kilometers, until I decide to head inland.
We find a familiar clearing. Many areas have been logged and replanted, and this is one of them. The raven who, on more occasions than I can count, visits me. I love it. It is a game, a puzzle just for me – what is Raven telling me?
Today I hear her call me in a different way, her voice moves clearly, yet gently in the soft breeze. Her cynical cackles are gone. She echoes hoowa hoowa and I smile and enjoy the sensation of shivers throughout my body. Hoowa hoowa is “thank you” in Haida. Coincidently, this language is being pulled deeper and deeper into my heart. I am a student, learning age-old teachings from a Haida healer. I wonder: “Why does Raven thank me?”
I continue hiking along the tree-line thinking about Raven’s call as Bell roars back and forth as fast as she can go, zooming in and out of the trees and shrubs. She is playing wildly, in a pure state of flow.
I am looking down, scanning the earth for treasures, feathers, stones, branches, or the like. I suddenly hear a tree fall and look up. It is so close I fear for Bell and I call out to her. She races up to me, safe. Was the universe telling me something? What was I thinking at the very moment the tree fell?
I look down again and see a small white piece of Styrofoam. It is an odd find, out here in the bush and many kilometers away from the nearest logging road, about 18 km from my small town by car. I’m intrigued, so I pick up the small piece of trash. It is a triangle of Styrofoam with a picture of a hummingbird on it. Hmmm, I think back to when I was gifted a beautiful first nations carved hummingbird pendant when I was taking my Reiki training in February. Later, not one but two little hummingbirds hovered in the window for only me to see, and then this past summer a hummingbird got stuck in my sunroom. She even allowed me to pick up her almost weightless body so I could set her free.
To me the forest is all things, vibrant life force, teacher, yet sometimes mysterious as she was today, a puzzle just for me.
Life is not always what you want, expect, or believe. How did my big, creative, trickster Raven become a gentle, agile, peaceful hummingbird? Did I change? Was I being asked to open myself to new ideas or ways of being? Was Raven thanking me, or was it her way of saying good-bye? I have become softer, more loving, and giving to myself and others like the hummer. Are these a reflection of two different aspects of myself? Only I can answer these questions, and it is my puzzle to complete.
All transformations are unique to the individual and all individuals need to unlock the key to their own personal universe. Stop, and listen with anticipation and joy and have fun!
With Love,
Angela
Meet the Author
Angela Rennie, RM, RYT, Spiritual Mentor, Reiki Master
Angela is the founder of Birthing Freedom, a holistic birth education curriculum and course that encompasses the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. 
