Deer Whiskers - Finding and Renewing the Adventure in Life

Yesterday I uncovered our chimnea to put twigs I had collected inside it.  As I did, I glanced down to find what looked like an animal's whisker stuck in the deck.

An animal's whisker?

Being a lover of Nature's things, I decided to hide it alongside my keys.  The problem was somewhere in the three steps it took to get to my keys the whisker had slipped from my hand.  It was gone.

Being someone with a shelf filled with Nature's things,  I told myself I could live without the whisker.

I took my morning walk, the first one I've taken in two weeks.  As I got to my back door there it was again. The whisker's white caught my eye against the brown deck.

My heart jumped and I picked it up as deer whiskers crossed my mind.

Deer whiskers!

Was this the time of year that I first saw and found deer whiskers years ago?

One beautiful aspect of having my writing on-line is I can search for a story and find it as well as the date.  And although I am tempted to throw away daytimers (those paper calendars some of us still use) as well as my journals, they allow me the opportunity to literally hold my journey in my hands and correlate the days and dates of the years prior.

This was the very week I found deer whiskers in my yard four years ago.

 *******

March 17, 2010

Deer whiskers make me smile. Don't ask me why. They just do. I didn't even know deer had whiskers until a couple of weeks ago as I looked through my binoculars at one, a deer that is, in the back yard. As it munched on grass, I thought I saw drool. A deer drooling?  'Hmm, maybe,' I thought, 'it's really good grass.' This prompted me to get out my binoculars through which I discovered that deer have chin whiskers.

I've personally been experiencing chin whiskers for quiet awhile so there is something comforting in seeing these animals I so love sporting really long chin whiskers. Let me tell you this deer had no care for length. It actually went with this deer. They belonged on him or her. They were reminiscent of a movie in which a wise old, grandaddy of a deer could talk.

I've now evidence that the whiskers are for real.  Only two days ago, I went out to leave corn and found a pile of whiskers on the rock where I always place the corn. You would have thought it was Christmas morning with the delight I felt. I tucked a few in my pocket and drove into Nashville to work.

Entering the grown up world of work, I forgot the whiskers until the next morning, when I went to get a massage. Yes, I had on the same pair of pants. When I reached in my pocket to take out a stone I intentionally brought to the session, I pulled out a few whiskers which I excitedly showed Garth who shares a wave length similar to mine.  The four whiskers were placed under the red stone.

Today as dusk falls, I go outside to ensure there's corn and to my surprise there are more whiskers. Although I was trying to practice non-attachment, I had quietly hoped there would be. It's as if the deer said, "Dawn, if you so graciously give us corn while we're awaiting spring leaves, the least we can do is share our whiskers."  I in a very grab-all-you-can-get-American way took an entire handful. Or maybe I'm just exuberant in situations like this. I was very grateful.

The whiskers lay by my laptop now as I write. They exude an essence, wise and kind. I want to learn more as to what deer have represented to the many traditions. That time will come. For now I have dear whiskers and right now that is all I need.

*******

When I initially found those deer whiskers it wasn't uncommon to see a dozen deer in my country yard each evening.  I still see in my mind's eye the seventeen I counted one night when I happened to look out.  They were bedded down not far from the kitchen window.  I thought that was normal. Now it is not.  Between building, hunting, people who target practice and coyotes I can't recall the last deer I saw.  The deer are now gone from my yard except for two or three that pass by occasionally that neighbors tell me they see.

I miss them so.  That was a magical time.  They were my messengers and now I am aware I quietly block missing them because of my sadness upon remembering their absence.

Yet there is beauty in this whiskers presence because I found it on my deck in the city.  It reminds me the deer are still with me and that there is magic to be found wherever I am.

According to "Animal Speaks" by Ted Andrews, deer represent the gentle lure to new adventure.   They often lead heroes and heroines away from their ordinary life and into the woods where real adventure begins.  I need deer's reminder that life can be gentle rather than hard (as I grew to believe) and that I can trust when intuition, events and Mystery lure me that life is an ADVENTURE.   This message soothes the part of me that has felt betrayed by Spirit and God when I have not trusted where I was being led.

This deer whisker is a treasure. Those I initially found in the country and bundled in thread were lost.  I had placed them in a red pouch and over time between traveling to and from the country they came out of the bundle. The telling and sad thing for me is I never realized I lost them.  I forgot these dear whiskers just as I forget I am called to adventure.

This whisker also had a new message.  When I picked it up I also heard that I am to use my senses in listening to Life's messages and in discerning the next steps to take.  (I later confirmed that whiskers are an instrument of sensing in animals.)


Adventure is not just meant for the movies, fairy tales and gaming!  Adventure is personally meant for each of us!

Do you experience life as adventurous?  Do you listen to or ignore and suppress your intuition and your senses?  When was the last time you experienced your life as magic?    

Slow down. Listen from within.  Notice what gets your attention.  Feel for what stirs you.  Pay attention and be curious as to your inner voice.  This is how Mystery, God, the Divine finds us and encourages us to open to the life that is meant for us.

-Imagine the Shift with Dawn! The Good News Muse, 03/17/10
mid-section written and posted 17 March 2010
re-experienced and posted 12 March 2014
dawn@imaginetheshift.com