learning from animals

Animals have talked to me ever since I took mushrooms with Link (the family dog).

One of the more powerful experiences I had was when I was deeply suffering about the impending death of my mother (who had stage IV gastric cancer at the time, with a prognosis of 2 months to live). I found myself wandering naked through the brambles of the backyard, following the wind. I crawled through bushes and bramble, getting poison ivy and nasty welts all over my body, but I didn't care. In fact I was mostly immune to the pain, my soul was hurting so badly. When I emerged from a particularly tight bramble, dripping blood, I came into a clearing and there stood a stag and two does. I stood erect. And instead of running, the oddest thing happened: one of the does approached me. I spoke to them with my heart, and they spoke to me with their bodies; ear and nose movements, pawing of the hooves, etc.

The doe who approached then dipped her head, indicating a lone rusted Budweiser can on the ground. She then raised and shook her head vigorously, and stepped on it.

I interpreted this as a demand from the animals for me to stop drinking, to cleanse my system. Excitedly, I returned to the back porch of the house... to be greeted by my wide-eyed mother in law. I explained to her what the deer had explained to me, and with her stunned, I took all the beer out of the fridge and threw it over the balcony, and instructed her to place all the liquor in a box which we would dispose of or give to the neighbors.

The alcohol was poison, it was clear as day now.

Two years and three DUIs later, I am finally sober. And as I travelled to my DUI drug evaluation session today, I looked upon my forearm, saw the permanent scars from that day in the brambles, and reflected on what the deer were trying to tell me all along.