Coyote Beautiful

Two nights ago, on my way to my first AA meeting in Arizona, I had two pounds of raw flank steak in my hands. Not the usual carry-on baggage for a meeting.

The how and why of carrying said beef as I made my way towards my car is uninteresting. But the bottom line was that I had to get rid of it. Deboning and throwing it down the disposal would be a waste of precious resources. I wanted to give it back to Mother Earth and let Her figure out what to do with it. Because, fuck, let's face it, She's a lot wiser than I am.

At this time, I'm staying at my sister Cheryl's beautiful house in Scottsdale, Arizona. She lives at the foot of some stunning ochre colored mountains, the hues of which you don't see back east. I've been here a half dozen times in the past few years. And, despite her home's immersion in nature, the wildlife I've encountered here has been limited to birds and the occasional reptile. Nature is magical, and I appreciate any and all contact with animals. At the same time, seeing birds and reptiles out here was nothing to write home about.

As I exited her home the other night, however, my eyes immediately caught sight of a beautiful and legendary predator: the Coyote. The first one I had ever seen in all my thousands of hours here in The Grand Canyon State. There she was. Less than one hundred feet from me. She froze when she saw me, as animals do when they are startled, and looked me right in the eyes. And I had raw meat in my hands. This was perfect.

Not the least bit afraid, for I felt an instant impatico, and I knew that Coyote's are not usually aggressive towards humans. This one skirted off within a few seconds after we made eye contact. Positively transfixed by her bewitching presence, even as she bolted off, I watched her, mesmerized, as her splendid form disappeared into the desert.  

I believe in Divine Intervention. I believe in Signs From Nature and From Powers Far Higher Than Myself. My human interpretation of such omens are open to the infinite mechanizations of my own sometimes hyper-active mind. So I won't get into the myriad of that. 

Let's just say I Saw it, I Felt It, I Experienced It, as A Message From Above. I knew I was In The Right Place, At The Right Time.

Then I Did The Next Right Thing. I threw the raw beef into the desert, knowing the coyote would eventually come back and eat it. I gave back to Mother Earth. To Mother Nature. To my new fleeting friend.

As I drove the thirty minutes to my meeting, top down in my rented Camaro SS convertible, playing on a loop, blasted at full-throttle-ear-assaulting volume,"Enter Sandman" (my current Song Of Compete Obsession), I felt a sense of calm, of peace, of connection to Life, that has recently proven somewhat elusive.

I get to my meeting, and I sit down. Within thirty seconds, a man plants himself two seats next to me, with a little dog on a leash. Adorable little fucker. This was obviously not the critter's first meeting. When we all clapped, the dog rose up on his hind legs and literally, clapped his paws with us. When we were quiet during heavy moments, he was docile, subdued, and respectful. The lovable little dude felt the energy of the room and responded accordingly. He was more humane, maybe even more human, than I have been at times.

The dog, "French Fry", and I became fast friends. He made his way over to me, as far as his leash would allow, and I petted, stroked, and rubbed him under his neck, behind his ears, and on his back, for over thirty minutes. I looked him in the eyes and made that special contact between human and animal. My second experience of such that night. I was on the verge of tears the entire meeting. 

A beautiful, sensitive, man's man named Angel, originally from New York City, read from a book and thus spoke quite a bit during the hour. We connected after the meeting, and he's become my temporary sponsor whilst I'm here in Scottsdale. Those of you who know me can connect the dots on that one. Those who don't, read more of what I've written under the category of "Angel" in the Blog Archives section of this website. 

I won't even get into what happened the next day, which was yesterday. Because I am practicing gratitude. I am practicing acceptance. I am practicing no expectations. I am practicing letting go.

Let's just say I have Angels Watching Over Me. Beautiful, Wise, Loving, Gifted, Angels. In all their Wonderous Forms.

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