Clarity

Published on by kellyhuntson
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I have always felt a deep connection to the natural world. Its mystical force can just pull me in—spinning my imagination and losing me in the immensity of its beauty. Last week, I had a so-called “wild encounter” in the woods. Allow me to elaborate.

I was running at sunrise with Ruby, my dog, following her lead as she hugged the trail beside a beautiful stream. The surface of the water was pink, sparkling with the rise of the autumn sun. I glanced upstream and instantly saw a bird—a large bird—flying right at us. We stopped immediately and watched the mirrored image of its flight as it drifted over the stream and landed on a nearby branch. The yellow eyes of a Great Horned Owl had found us. We stood in complete awe, less than five feet away. And for a second, our eyes met.

That image, the timing of it, the sheer perfection of the moment—seeing an owl flying over a stream at sunrise—is an experience I will never forget.

Nature moved me once again, and I believe she has much more to say if we just take the time to listen. In the rustling leaves, there are memories stirring. When lightning splits the sky, you can feel its power rushing all the way to your toes. Rings around the moon can warn of unsettling times ahead, and dark clouds can part when you feel the joy of true love.

Lately, I’ve been trying to see the beauty in more ordinary things found in everyday life. I think there is a lot of beauty that goes unrecognized there. To truly see life as a gift, you have to remember that your experiences are the beauty. In that moment when the majestic creature’s eyes met mine, I think I also remember that he winked—letting me know he already knew that.

Thank you always for reading,

Kelly

Copyright © Kelly Huntson and kellyhuntson.com

*published 2015

70 thoughts on “Clarity”

  3. Kelly, I love moments like these and it’s one of the reasons I love living in the Pacific Northwest so much. When we start to discover the joy in the simple things many of the other things in life we hold so important seem to fade. You may be in your way to becoming a minimalist.

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  4. Wow … This was a great post to start the day! I’ve never seen an owl that close, and you must have had quite the adrenalin rush. Running outdoors is a beautiful thing indeed.

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  5. Maybe so! I agree – I think there’s a lot of joy to be found in more simple things… finding ways to simplify my life has brought me great joy already!

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  12. I’m working on my third cup. It should have read, “Simply Stated”. LOL. Oh well, time to make the donuts. Have a wonderful day Kelly.

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  16. LOL. A simple play on an old Dunkin Donuts commercial. I think the last donut I ate was many years ago when I was a cop. No pun intended. LOL

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  21. The older I get, Kelly, the more I believe the entire planet and all its rocks, waters, plants, and creatures are sentient. I think we are simply not equipped to converse or commune on that level…but there are times when we are open enough for the encounter to occur. For a brief time the barriers fall; we are part of the whole. It seems you had one of those moments <3

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  24. One of the difficulties so many people face is the fact that their lives begin each morning instinctively and rely on this cognitive behavior to get through the day. If we would be willing to slow down, take a step backwards and begin to recognize that life offers everything we need, our eyes would experience greater depths of beauty and our hearts would experience a greater sense of emotional fulfillment.
    Your experience sounds amazing!

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  25. Hi Jonathan! Yes – I agree! It really was an awesome thing to see, and like you say, all part of experiencing greater depths of beauty in things around me. Hope you have a lovely day!

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  26. I’ve had such a moment Kelly and completely relate. In your telling I can feel the awe and the inspiration. How absolutely beautiful and I’m happy for you. Nature is indeed, always telling a story, sharing her wisdom, guiding us if we choose to let her. Such a great way to begin the day…thank you for sharing it.

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  27. You are so welcome, my friend! I can see that you have a real appreciation for nature and wildlife from the beautiful photos on your blog! I hope the rest of your day is filled with nothing but happiness :)

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  30. After I finished my graduate course in Quantum Mechanics, I came to realize that even in a blade of grass there is enough going on to humble the grasp of the human mind. The miracle of life’s operations, manifested in subtle chemical variation, constantly unfolding into new expression – we are embraced by a diversity of wonders no less magnificent than the rigid panoply of the cosmos!

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  32. It must have been breathtaking to see this majestic bird… It is not a common one to ever see. Often I think of the thousands of creatures, fish, fowl and animals that God created…some with such intricate markings and colours…. awesome! Diane

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  35. For sure! Thanks, Carrie! BTW, your book looks great! I laughed at your reference to your “writing hibernation!” Will be starting it soon!

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  37. Thanks, Kelly. Weird to think it’s already out there when technically it hasn’t yet been released. Thank you, Amazon. ;) (But that’s so cool you got it! Thank you!!)

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  40. What a wonderful morning..running in the coolness and then seeing such an awesome bird…We have some type of owl living in the trees of our backyard (about an acre of all woods) – I hear his hoot all the time but he’s never shown himself…lucky you to have met one ‘eye-to-eye’ :)

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  41. Hi Linda! Good to see you! Maybe someday you’ll get a glimpse of him… they are mostly nocturnal, so I probably wouldn’t have seen the one I saw if it wasn’t so early in the morning. The photo on the post is close to the exact place where I saw him – wish I had an actual picture, but I wasn’t fast enough in getting my phone out of my arm band :)

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  54. Last winter there were snowy owls in our neighborhood. They never fly this far south. There was no explanation as to why they appeared. Some blamed global warming. I was just glad to see one. I wouldn’t have believed it otherwise.

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  56. That must have been really cool to see! I think they’re all white, aren’t they? Don’t know if they’ve ever been spotted here. Owls are cool creatures, that’s for sure.
    Forecast for Sunday is 65 and partly sunny… maybe the nice weather will bring good luck for the Browns!

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  61. I love owls. I just watched a program about them. Did you know that when they attack their prey its with the force of 16x their weight? Or something like that. They’re really powerful. I saw a family of owls once at this place I stayed in Morro Bay. They were up on the telephone wires. It was so cool! They were hooting back and forth and flying over us.

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  62. Wow – I didn’t know that! That’s cool! Sounds like their prey would be history just from the force! They really are an enchanting animal… used so much in legends and myths… and synonymous with Halloween!

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  65. There are some people who have taught me messages from those gone before may be sent through birds, Kelly. I received a special message from my Grandpa Mattson when he passed in 1980.(I wrote a post about my cardinal. You may find tags running the length of my posts.) Even “Guideposts” magazine has cited cases of birds being like “angels.” Native Americans really believe this. I was saying this to think of who may be sending you a message from or through the owl? Smiles, Robin

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  66. Someone else mentioned that to me! I think that is so interesting! If there is any truth to it, I’m glad an owl was the messenger and not a vulture or something! That would terrify me! Going to have to look into this stuff now! :)

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