A Call in the Forest
Picture it — I’m in a lush forest reserve walking Pepper and I hear a bird.
Now, you can imagine there were a lot of birds. Yet this one I felt called to find, carefully following the sound. While I didn’t realize this in the moment, I now see it was calling to me to get my attention.
The Peekaboo Messenger
Once I spotted this beautiful red-bellied woodpecker, it stopped calling to me. Instead, it started playing peekaboo! I kid you not, this bird started playing peekaboo with me.
At first I was like, is this happening? Then I realized… this is happening — and so I joyfully played along! After a short time playing, Pepper wanted to walk, and I generally do what Peppers says. 😆
But when Pepper stopped, I looked back and there was the bird, and it jumped right back into playing peekaboo! However, once it came into full view, faced the tree and stopped playing, I knew our moment was complete.
The Funk & the Questioning
For context, I was in a bit of a funk that day. I had started wondering if the path I’m on is truly serving me in the way I need. This was the first time I had felt that since changing everything in my life. I could sense the weight of many swirling pieces — all valid, all present and most out of my control. I felt unable to fully land in the freedom I had envisioned for myself. In full transparency, I actually laid in bed that morning wondering, am I happy?
To be clear, I didn’t magically receive all of the layers of understanding in the moment – I was in a funk, remember? And in my experience, there is a multilayered (or multidimensional) unfolding process when one walks this path of Remembrance.
So reflecting back on this entire experience through writing this piece feels like the gift that keeps giving. Being present is your present friends. 🙂
Thankfully, after navigating decades of depression, I am realizing that it’s been a minute since I asked myself, am I happy. That is more than enough for me and yet, there is so much more to this story friends. So let’s continue!
As I walked away with Pepper and smiled thinking about the joy of nature, I received my message loud and clear from this encounter: Don’t forget about play.
Rediscovering the Spectrum of Play
Play comes in all shapes and sizes. Just like the woodpecker showing up to surprise me in the forest, play often arrives in ways we don’t expect. It’s not always about laughter or games — sometimes, it’s presence, connection, and the simple act of following a call.
I had been so enthralled by what I have been doing — being alone in nature with Pepper, channeling and creating — that it felt like the ultimate play to me! However, after experiencing such joy and play in other ways, like dancing me arse off at my brother’s wedding, it made me start to question. It sucked me back into this polarization of what fun and happiness looks like.
Only in writing this did I realize how it all wove together. My intention in writing this piece was to speak to the reminders we get from the world around us when we can’t see it in ourselves. Another reminder that we’re all connected.
While that sentiment still remains true for me an this piece, I’m realizing now that we can’t think of play, joy, fun, happiness, love, sadness, fear, anxiety, etc., in limited ways. The more we can expand our awareness of what play can be… what love is… what fear looks like… the more we broaden and deepen our consciousness.
More Than Meets the Eye
Just like discovering a new favorite song opens a world of sound you didn’t know you were missing, expanding your awareness of joy, love, or play opens new dimensions of being. It’s akin to discovering anything new that excites you: an artist, TV show, book, or even a color.
When you think about how many colors and shades and hues you see in the world – remember that we see less than 1% of the full electromagnetic spectrum.
What if joy is like that, too?
What if love, fear, purpose, play, etc. all exist in a spectrum far vaster than what we’ve been conditioned to perceive?
What if the funk isn’t failure, but simply a different frequency of truth calling us inward — like the woodpecker — asking us to pause, to look, to play?
Tuning Into What We Can’t Yet See
There is so much more available to us than what meets the eye — or the mind.
So next time you find yourself questioning your path, unsure of what you’re feeling or where to go… try asking:
Allow me to be in reception of what I need in this moment/experience/emotion?
The universe might just answer with a friend playing peekaboo.
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Creative Offering:
If these words serve you, let them fly.
If you teach from them, may they bloom again.
Credit is kind. Integrity is everything.
Blair is a registered dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor, E-500 RYT and Reiki Master. She integrates spirituality with modern day science to help people heal and reclaim their relationship with their body and food.
Disclaimer:
These are my current musings — co-created through divine guidance and my digital muse (aka AI). This content is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only and does not constitute medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the support of a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional regarding any concerns or conditions.