Interpreting the Osprey

I've just read a blog posting written by a woman named Swanfeather, about the Osprey.

What provoked my curiosity?

This Osprey settled on the roof next door and has been peering our way for the past few days.

Having studied animal totems and believing there are no accidents, I've been pondering what this dear bird has to teach, to tell, to trigger. Many years ago I decided to expand the fun of interpretting my dreams to interpretting my days...so what does the Osprey's visit mean?

SWANFEATHER- The osprey is connected to all aspects of solar worship. And can come into one's life to emphasise the value and healing properties of the sun, and to help those who practice mystically or spiritually to facilitate sun-god communion.
ME-The coldest winter in more than 20 years here in Florida. I have rekindled my love for the sun. Whenever it appears, I sit outside and turn my face to it, full of appreciation.

SWANFEATHER- An osprey doesn't wait for the fish to jump out of the water to meet him, instead he splashes in headfirst into an element that he could not survive within. He even places his head under the water - unlike sea-eagles. He teaches us how to plunder our resources and the necessity to move outside of our comfort zones in order to do this. Osprey teaches us to take risks, and to not be frightened of grasping opportunities just because they seem like they're out of our reach.

ME-I enrolled in a Jazzercise class, and I start tonight! This is definitely a move outta my Hatha yoga comfort zone. I'm into loose, cotton clothes, not Danskin, but I took the Osprey's advice and bought some. I was getting to the point where only a few pairs of pants fit comfortably...time to reduce the contents. (No accident, my favorite velvet pants that all my friends and family know so well, were ripped on a Sunday hike. Thank you, God...I got the message!)

I also had a major haircut, and left most of the mass on the floor of A Perfect 10. Peggy cut my hair on Thursday, and I went back for more cutting on Friday. Time to lighten up.

SWANFEATHER- An appearance of osprey in your life can indicate an appearance of the spirit in the form of the Beacon, coming to guide you back to a place of safety or security, or to a feeling of groundedness.
ME-Having recovered from the H1N1 flu, and having nearly completed our Florida renovations, I'm stepping back and asking, "Ok, now what?" What I see is that I ready to claim and use more of my personal power. I have much more power over my habits than I have been using, especially when it comes to eating sugar and burning it off.

SWANFEATHER- In terms of working on an energy or elemental level, osprey energy can be called upon when working with the elements of water and wind.
ME- Well, it is windy and rainy now, and has been for most of January and February; I think I've nailed that one! Seriously, I just finished reading a terrific book, Thirty Percent Chance of Enlightenment, by Tim Brookes, a fellow Vermonter. Writing about forecasting monsoons in India, Brookes has an epiphany about the meaning of water in our lives. His ephiphany became mine; he also changed my way of thinking about rain (good thing!) when he wrote:

"What vanity, I thought, that we should consider water a commodity, something put on the planet for our use. Water is the majority, we are the minority. Water may not exactly be alive in the human sense, but it may be life itself in the divine sense, the fons et origo, the genesis and continuing narrative of everything.

"A strange idea struck me. I thought of the fruit and vegetable market Raj and I had passed on our way to the Rock Fort. Nowhere else in the city was so crowded, nowhere else in the city, except perhaps the hotel pool, had such a concentration of water. Mangoes, limes, cabbages, small plumlike fruit, all more than 80 % water, all surrounded by people looking for their daily water intake in semi-solid form. Perhaps that's a universal truth, I thought. Perhaps as water-based creatures we are instinctively drawn to water, even hidden water, even camouflaged water. Perhaps water seeks out water."

SWANFEATHER- Ospreys come into our life to teach us how to hone our senses, on both a physical and spiritual level. We might have become lazy with meditation, or with a physical endeavour we used to enjoy. We might have let our brains, bodies and spirits become sluggish. Osprey claws us back into shape, so that we learn that we nourish ourselves when we're honed.
ME-I have resumed my weekly fast day, which I lost when I was sick. I have added more asanas to my yoga practice, ramping up my determination to be strong and powerful. After all, I have a 40th high school reunion in July and a Sivananda yoga teachers' reunion in August; I want to show up healthy and honed. I bought my train ticket yesterday.

SWANFEATHER- Sometimes opportunity sticks around for a while, but most of the time it doesn't. Osprey teaches us precise timing, and if osprey has come into your life, you are either able to spot opportunities and seize them as soon as they're noticed, or you are learning this trait.
ME-I am seizing and learning. I am glad to be awake and aware in this moment. And, I'm drinking lots of life-giving water.