Teaching Moment on a Quiet Pond
It was a beautiful early summer day, perfect to paddle about in the kayak and maybe sail a little bit. There was just enough breeze to gently move the kayak and I was hoping to see a few birds. If nothing else I would enjoy drifting through the lily pads that are abundant on this lake. I liked the swooshing sounds they made sliding down the kayak. It was a perfect quite day to just relax and enjoy the pond.
I set sail and in no time had tacked my way back and forth to the far end of the lake. I was looking forward to a light steady tail wind for the return trip. I sailed along peaceful just looking at the trees, the water, the beautiful shore line. Then up ahead I saw a Loon. It wasn't uncommon to see maybe one or two on this lake. As I got nearer I loosened the sheet line to relax the sail from the wind, and slowly dropped the sail very quietly on deck. I was hoping to not scare the Loon off and maybe get a nice photo. The kayak slowed then gently came to rest on the lake.
The Loon wasn't far away and I stayed still just watching her. She turned away towards two very small bobbing little gray things behind her in the water. They were Baby Loons, so small I didn't even notice them. They were just big enough to be off of her back and having some swim time to themselves not far away from her. They looked no more than floating tiny fuzz balls bobbing in a giant body of water. The mama Loon looked over at me to get a feel of who I was. I nodded and sent a warm hello out to her, saying how beautiful it was to see her and the little ones on such a calm pretty day. And how beautiful their home was.
She turned away and motioned to the babies. They swam up closer to her. Then she turned and started paddling towards me. The two little one's followed a few feet behind her. They slowly swam closer and closer. She brought them right beside the kayak. They were not more than a paddle length or two away. She looked at me for a short moment and the two little one's peeking out from behind her. Then she turned around with her back to me like she was talking to the babies. They would look at her, then look around her at me, then back at her. I realized it was a teaching moment. She was taking this opportunity to share something about humans perhaps, about me? Animals usually communicate with each other silently in thought. I couldn't hear the message but clearly they were listening and were looking at me like 'ahhhh we see'. After a few moments she turned back around facing me and nodded a Thank you.
She motioned to the little ones to go back to paddling. I watched and felt so Blessed that she brought them close and was unafraid to turn her back and share with them. The babies went paddling off and she turned to follow them. She stayed close enough to them to keep watch but far enough away that they felt some independence, a sense of self. The two little one's bobbed along side by side in their own tiny space. Like best of friends in a big wide world.
They finally paddled far enough away that they were nothing more than gray little balls again, like when I first saw them. I just floated in the kayak and watched and thought about this special encounter.
What a treat I thought. It was so special to be part of a teaching moment for the Loon family. I began paddling gently on my way and wondered what she must have said. Perhaps she said something like... "This is one who may be called A Loon by his tribe, but they don't know how true their statement would be. See how different he is? He really is trying to understand our world and life on the pond here. He is trying to see, to feel, to be in this wonderful place we know, and to apprecieate all it gives. He is trying to come back in balance with a natural world rarely seen by humans."
When they were far away I pulled the lines to lift the sail. Soon the wind was gently carrying me effortlessly across the water. I thought how nice it was to see them up close. To be a part of that moment. As the boat gently rocked on the waves I was realizing that friends come in many forms. The human body is just one way of being on earth. We are just one way to visit this world, this time, and place. There are a host of ways to be here in this reality. I really was connecting in new ways with other types of Beings. In many ways one might obviously say they were new friends Not like me. These guys had feathers, others wore fur, or scales. But in many other ways they really were more like me than most who live in a human form. I was beginning to apprecieate their world, their wonderful lives on this beautiful pond. That all life matters.
The teaching moment was not just for the little ones.
