Fox has been showing up in my life a lot lately. In my dreams, on my late night walks and even in my chicken pen. Fortunately, the chicks are safe and sound. I can’t really blame her, it’s in her nature to find food and resources are more plentiful in the neighborhood than her normal habitat. I have come to draw some good physical boundaries while also opening my curious heart to Fox teachings.
Fox is commonly associated with trickery and stealth, wonderful tools for the primitive practices of a four-legged forager. Fox’s golden-amber coat, obsidian-camel glazed eyes and agile prance also carry many other messages, particularly during times of uncertainty. The fox teaches us how manage our energy and maneuver obstacles in a way that isn’t always combative or resistant but rather about discovering a clever and more efficient path. They encourage us to consider new ways of seeing and finding solutions thus creating resiliency through adaptation. Foxes are resourceful and quick learners.
Do you have challenges in your life that need a different approach? Do you need to find a different direction or new solutions on your path? Can you create time to redefine boundaries and new terms or strategize new territory and discovery? Are you resisting the need to adapt? What attachments can be released to occupy a new way of living?
Arizona foxes are active in both the day and the night, creatures that can creatively and wisely navigate light and dark and willingly live in the shadows when needed. They understand there are unique skills for managing the duality and that both provide rich experiences required for existence.
Are there parts of yourself that you are denying, avoiding or judging? Do you give yourself permission to feel the full spectrum of your emotions…those that are of ease and grace and those that are darker and more somber? Experiencing our dynamic nature is essential for self-realization and healthy evolution. The key is to dance in and out, to not get stuck for too long in either the light (over-glorifying, “rainbows and unicorns”) or the dark (weighted stagnation assuming worse case scenario, “Eeyore syndrome.”).
Many foxes have an affinity with nocturnal activities. These foxes bring us to the edge of deep dream work. Dream work is the language of the soul capturing symbol and archetype to help release the stories and messages of the subconscious. Dream work is also believed to tap our senses into the collective consciousness and global culture. Right now many of us are having more intensified, vidvid and wildly abstract dreams as an attempt to process the current global and social justice issues. In part, we are dreaming more because in isolation we are sleeping more and reaching optimal REM sleep more often that when we are consumed with early morning hustle and late night bustle. Also, when we are taken out of our normal routine and environment the brain looks into past experience and current worries to create a sense of understanding.
Consider putting a journal next to your bed and try to document your dreams. If you can’t remember the details, even just writing a word, image, feeling will help bring deeper contemplation in more waking hours. What are your dreams expressing to you and how can you manage in daily life? For instance, when I have catastrophic or horrific dreams when I feel unsafe, I focus my daily attention to all the things I have in my life that convey safety (light and dark).
Fox is a symbol often warning us of deception and trickery. When fox arrives its a nudge to be more discerning in your relationships both personally and professionally.
Is there an area of your life you feel you are being cunningly mislead? Is someone holding back or not being direct? If so find your foxy voice and speak up. Before making assumptions, be direct, honest and clear. Listen to your gut (it is, after all, the first brain). Often times our nervous systems pick up on deception through body language, tone and energy. Be willing to investigate the facts and if needed, be willing to change course and disengage when your intuition smells something rotten.
Fox has a keen awareness and sharp attention to detail. They are incredibly intelligent animals and they remind us to spend time strengthening our awareness and intellect.
When is the last time you challenged your brain, learned something, took up a new hobby? When is the last to you sat and simply observed the environment sharpening your skills of observation? If you are feeling bored or cerebrally stagnant and fox visits, perhaps it’s time to be a student of something again (dare I say, always be a student?)
If you are a regular reader of mine, you are well aware of my tendency to analyze the subtle and profound experiences of life to provide purpose and meaning. If you are new to these ponderings, welcome and TLC (take it, leave it, change it….make it yours). The more we create a contemplative relationship with all of our experiences the more holistically human we become. Wisdom comes from embodiment and saturation of life, understanding the inner connectivity of all things.
Now, go be foxy! (insert Jimi Hendrix Foxy lady song) 🙂
Blessings, Namaste, Aho
Robin Afinowich
