Eagle Dance

While I was at work today a visitor shared with me a story that I thought would be interesting to share.

A woman came to visit roughly two years ago. At that time she was undergoing treatment for cancer. Her situation and the future were very unclear to her at the time. She shared with me that she is part Native American and she had wanted to see the residential bald eagles we have. The eagles both have injuries preventing them from being able to fly. The woman said to me she sat watching them for awhile. As she sat there the older of the two with a broken wing came closer to her. They stared at one another for awhile. The eagle then spread his wings and showed her the injury he had sustained leaving him unable to fully open one of his wings. He then proceeded to "dance" in front of her. She said he watched and it was as if she wanted her to dance with him. She said it was like he was telling her that despite his injury he could still dance and that she should do the same. They danced together for awhile. The woman left feeling she had the strength to continue fighting her cancer.

Today she returned cancer free and eager to see the eagle who gave her the strength to carry on. She told me this story with tears in her eyes since it had such an impact on her life.

I hope anyone who reads this can have a moment in life where they can connect with nature as this woman did. It doesn't have to be something as strong as this one. Maybe it will just be the song of a bird on a day you are feeling down or the dragonfly landing on your shoulder. As a teacher and a naturalist I would hope people can see the beauty of the world around them and hopefully realize that we are all connected.