The other morning, I interrupted a snake lying in the sun on the front steps. It slithered off and disappeared under the house, but I realized that it was the first snake I had seen in a very, very long time. Snakes (not surprisingly) represent the life cycle, birth, death, the shedding of skin, transmuting poisons, transformation -- even the process of writing. I suppose any animal's powers can be applicable everyday, but still, I find it helpful to notice the timing of encountering this "medicine". Without (I hope) misappropriating or misusing the terminology of indigenous cultures, in my own way I find these animal encounters as healing and as meaningful as what we in the West consider medicine. Having so infrequently had medical insurance, medical care or been prescribed (or used) modern medications, I'm open to a really, really broad definition of healing these days. And as a culture, we are shedding our limiting skins, aren't we? For the most part, I'll leave the analysis of it all to others, today, at least.
Two bits of news here -- I seem to have a renewed impulse to do artwork, and have been creating personal post cards to send to friends. Secondly, I'm having another small travel adventure in a few days. When I think of the much larger ones I had over the years, it's almost embarrassing how challenging it is to plan a mere four days or so away. But this is another era, I'm another gazillion years older, and it "is what it is". Perhaps I, too, will shed a little skin along the way.
