This morning something unusual happened. Right near my house is a lovely running route. It’s about five miles long and spirals past woodlands, old roman vineyards, gravel pits and stately homes. I run the route every morning before breakfast and practice my Hermetics seated on the floor at a lovely spot overlooking the river in the woods. It is a lovely tranquil area and it’s not rare to see foxes or deer. Today, however, something very different took place.
I was seated in meditation when I heard a kind of bird call – “Awoowee” – a kind of plaintive but aggressive shriek. My mind remained still but I was aware of it. The noise continued and started to get closer. I could feel some restlessness but remained focused.
The noise stopped. After a couple of minutes there it was again this time very loud and directly in front of me – “Awoowee!!
I almost jumped out of my skin. As I opened my eyes sitting on a branch directly in my line of sight was some form of small bird of prey.
“Awooowee”
It was looking directly at me and shrieking. I didn’t have my contact lenses in but I could see its beak opening with each noise. It bobbed its head and shifted from foot to foot. “Awoowee” indeed!
What did it want? Was it a young bird looking for its mother? Was I sitting near its nest? Could it be the mother about to attack me to see me off? I could just see the obituary in The Sun newspaper “Norfolk Ninja Eaten By Sparrow Hawk” or “Killer Kestrel Catches Norwich Ninja”. I moved my legs out of the lotus position so I could move better. The bird seemed surprised by the movement and became silent for a second or two.
“Awooowee” it made one final noise as if to make a point and then flew away. Perhaps the bird was just intrigued as to what I was doing sitting so still, or perhaps I was just in his meditation spot?