Wolf Medicine

            It was early morning sometime after sunrise when I went out for a walk down the lone dusty dirt road. It was summertime and I was fifteen, living in rural Arkansas. I was heading to the pond in the far pasture to sit and just enjoy nature, when halfway to my destination, a lone reddish wolf stepped silently from the woods and into my path. 

            Less than three feet away he stopped in the middle of the road. The wolf looked me right in the eyes, and I just stood there looking right back at him. I wasn’t afraid, just really surprised. Living near the woods for most of my young life, I had seen many coyotes, but never a wolf. The communication between us was silent as we both absorbed the other’s energy, creating some sort of a bond. After about 6 seconds, he turned and walked silently back into the woods, and I continued my journey to the pond. Even though he was out of my sight, I knew without a doubt that the wolf was still lurking in the woods watching me.

To this day I can still see the wolf’s piercing yellowish brown eyes; unwavering, unafraid, and non-threatening. We were just two spirits that chose to cross paths that morning. Time and time again throughout my life, wolf would appear to me in various forms; such as dreams, visions, messages, but never a close encounter like that one. It wasn’t until I was an adult that a wise old medicine man told me that I carried wolf medicine.

For many years I would think about that red wolf, wondering about that strange encounter. As the years went by and I went through my life challenges, I began to understand the deeper meaning behind my encounter with the wolf. He had come to tell me that there would be many times in my life that I would have to go it alone but that I would be okay and I was protected. I was to remain resilient and steadfast on my life journey, and if I moved through life fearlessly, I would make it. In certain situations it would be best for me to become transparent while slipping in and out of situations quietly and quickly without looking back. I was to learn my environment, use it, but not get caught by it. Stay on the path and stay on the red road.

Though I am sure that my friend the red wolf is long gone by now, I often wonder if he is still watching me, lurking somewhere in the spirit realm ready to spring into action for the one that he bonded with so many years ago.