Lynx, color engraving,
Source: https://www.meisterdrucke.fr/
He invited me for coffee on a freezing day, one of those -20°C days.
It was mid-morning, so I went down to the kitchen, and with my steaming coffee in hand, I looked out the window.
I was surprised.
There he was, stealthy, elegant, agile.
Majestic.
I stared, both stunned and amazed. A shock to my tropical imagery.
In seconds, the feline jumped the fence and went into the neighbors’ yard.
Yes, it was a bobcat, a member of the lynx family (Lynx canadensis).
I say he extended an invitation because, according to our First Nations, encounters with our spirit animals are never accidental; they call to us, they choose us to leave us profound messages.
The bobcat that greeted me that morning was enormous, with pointed ears, a short tail, and spots like a leopard.
I was speechless for the few seconds the encounter lasted, and of course, here’s my subsequent reflection.
Spiritual animals have a sacred meaning, and I’ve learned that they manifest themselves during times of great change in life, or in other cases, like today, they appear to help us keep an open mind.
I’m going to take it as a sign of vision and lucidity, since these cats possess superhuman eyesight and have the ability to anticipate movements—in other words, intuition. My encounter with the bobcat is a reminder to connect with that virtue of seeing beyond the obvious.
Days passed, and I still have the image of the bobcat in my mind. It’s still there, graceful and free, though invisible, every time I look out the window. In the end, these appointments seem like bridges between this physical world and other, kinder ones.
In short, I invite you to look out your windows, those of our homes or those other fluid and eternal ones, the windows of the soul.
With luck, perhaps tomorrow a moose, a wolf, or a deer, or in other latitudes a macaw, a jaguar, or a troupial will invite us for a cup of coffee.
