Provenance:
I opened my backdoor and was immediately face to face with this fox on a fence, no more than 15 feet away. I was so taken by his presence that I wasn’t even startled, instead amazed, delighted and humbled that somehow, in this exact spot, at this precise moment, I stood on Earth as a witness with the desire to be with this being who was equally willing to be with me. Honored by this visitation, I did not want miss to a second. We had each other’s absolute attention. I could tell, as could he, that we weren’t just looking at the creature in front of us. We were looking deep into each other’s eyes. This exchange lasted long enough for me to step back inside to get my camera.
Unbeknownst to my rational brain, I had raised a single finger up to give the all-knowing fox the universal symbol for, “Wait a second.” I kept my finger raised and leaned around the door to get my camera. It was no more than few seconds that we were out of visual contact. I was so relived and happy that he waited for me.
I think he knew what was coming. I think he knew that that was why he was there. He already had the pose, with not a hair out of place—his beautiful fur coat fit him perfectly.
I slowly raised my camera, set the exposure, checked to see if he was looking straight into the lens, into my one open eye. At the same time, I framed the shot. A second later I pushed the shutter and the camera went dark for 1/250th of a second. When I lowered my camera, we held each other’s gaze for a few more moments. With a nod to the event that had just transpired, the fox jumped to the embankment, then paused for a moment, looked back in my direction one more time, and trotted off into the woods.
If I were to interpret this event as a dream, I would say that it was about being seen. I was given a rare opportunity to use a spontaneous situation to show myself something about The Self. I was a stranger who was invited into another country, only to find out that it wasn’t strange at all. We shared the same world. It was a most pleasant visit.
