feathers

Now and then I will find a feather laying randomly on my back patio or I step over a fluffy white one hidden partially in the grass as I walk around the park. I also see them as earrings hanging from racks in the little gift shop or I see them in a photo used as a quill for some writer who has dipped its end into a jar of ink. Some believe that when they see a feather, it is from the wing of an angel left for us to find and remind us of heavenly deities. Feathers adorn the headdresses of dancers and are displayed in living color on the singing birds of the world from the foilage of the Amazon rainforest to the canaries in metal cages. Even as I look up to the clouds, I see shapes of feathers.

Indigenous elders will tell you that the feather needs to be looked at closely as there is much wisdom to be found. The spine represents your life’s road. Everyone knows that the feather is thicker at one end and thins toward the end. Isn’t this true of our lives? We are strong and hungry for knowledge, but as we grow we lose our innocence and become concerned with other things like a job, relationships and the world around us. Our foundational knowledge is there and with us, becoming more honed as we age.

There are hundreds of filaments that adorn the sides of the spine. This represents the teachings, the lessons and the experiences we accumulate along our journey and gather to become the person we are. An eagle’s feather has particular significance because the eagle’s feathers enable him to fly above and see a long way. As humans, we too can reflect on our lives and see the bigger picture and soar above into a full life of opportunity.

Psalm 91: verses 1-7 make reference to feathers.

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.

May you find refuge not regret; faith not fear; patience not pestilence and peace not plague. Soar above the problems of today and be safe in the shadow of His wings.