As I sat watching the ants in my mother’s back garden, a squirrel came to me, and I felt the urge to feed it. I dashed to the kitchen and retrieved some peanuts to share with my new furry friend. Returning to the garden, I slowly extended my hand and placed the peanuts on the ground very close to me, offering tasty treats.
To my delight, the squirrel approached with a cautious yet curious demeanor, as if offering a silent thank-you. It inched closer, its bright eyes gleaming with anticipation, before carefully taking the peanuts one by one. I couldn’t help but smile, marveling at the trust and connection we were building.
The squirrel deftly divided the peanuts, consuming some on the spot and burying the rest in the soft soil, no doubt storing them for later. I watched in fascination, captivated by its innate instincts and the way it carefully tended to its needs. Later, I decided not to give any more food, but it kept coming back for more. So I told my furry friend no more, waving my hand. It went up the fence and sat there watching me until its enemy, the white furry cat, arrived. After that, I saw no more of my furry-tailed friend.
This synchronicity, this dance between human and animal, felt almost spiritual in nature. It was as if the squirrel understood the offering and responded with a profound sense of gratitude, a silent acknowledgment of the bond we were forging.
In that moment, the boundaries between our worlds seemed to blur, and I found myself transported to a realm where the natural and the divine intertwined. The squirrel’s actions, its trust, and its deliberate movements all spoke to a deeper level of understanding, a language that transcended the spoken word.
As I continued to watch the squirrel, I couldn’t help but feel a profound sense of connection, not just to this individual creature but to another furry-tailed squirrel I had in India when I was about 14 years old, living in my grandad’s house with my mother and brothers; Sam, Mark, and Solomon. This time, it was in my mother’s house in East Ham while living temporarily before moving to Scotland with my wife. On both occasions, I did not have a house but a home given by the grace of God. Was this a coincidence or synchronicity? Both these furry-tailed squirrels were wild.
Thursday, 11th July 2024 @ 6.30 PM