Communication from Pileated Woodpecker

It was relatively quiet at the dog park, not too many people or pups there, and my two dogs had run ahead of me to explore.  We were on the back side of the park, which is habitually more deserted than the front side.

I thought I had the area to myself until I heard a raucous kuk-kuk-kuk coming from the trees.  I looked up and finally spotted who was making the sound: a Pileated Woodpecker.

I started to walk on, but was pulled back by his strident screeching.  So I stood for a moment and listened to his message:

“Here I am, here I am, look at me, look at me, look at me.  Yes, raise your head up and look at me, here I am, here I am, look at me.

“See where I am?  I’m sitting where I can see all that goes on.  I am watching on high, I am looking around, I am finding what is best for me up here.  Could you say I have a bird’s eye view? Think on that, think on that, think on that!

“Is a bird’s eye view small or is it big?  Think on that, think on that, think on that!  Tell your peoples to expand what they see, to see the big, to see the little!  I can see all around up here, I can see what’s in front of me too.

“Tell your peoples they have become blinded by what they expect to see!  Oh no, look around, look around, look around!  Tell your peoples to see what they see!  Not to make up what they see!  To see what they see!

“Tell your peoples, tell your peoples, tell your peoples!”

The woodpecker suddenly flew away, leaving me standing in the dust and thinking to myself, “Well, that was short and sweet.  I wonder what that was all about?”

At home I began to puzzle out Woodpecker’s message.  Talking to the animals is one thing, deciphering their message and how it applies may be something else altogether.

To help me interpret Woodpecker’s message, I started a web search and found some information at the Cornell Lab of Orinthology.  I then checked out Steven Farmer’s Animal Spirit Guides and Ted Andrews’ Animal Speak.  I learned that the cartoon character, Woody Woodpecker, is based on the Pileated Woodpecker, but interestingly enough, I did not find anything about the sight of the Pileated Woodpecker.

I did, however, find myself getting distracted by all the head knowledge I was discovering, as well as the different places I visited on the web.  I found myself getting further and further away form Woodpecker’s message.  Thanks to the many browser pages I had opened regarding woodpecker, I finally ‘saw’ that I was allowing his original message to become diluted.

The lesson for me?  When talking to the animals, it is helpful to know the background of the animal, as well as the metaphysical and archetypical significance of the animal.  It can also become detrimental when I start becoming too involved with that information and start reading into the animal’s authentic message.  For the animal’s communication to be effective for me, I need to apply the message through the lens of my experience, not someone else’s lens.

I’m very thankful I met up with Pileated Woodpecker in the park and he was willing to share his wisdom with me.  I’m very grateful that Woodpecker’s wisdom helped me see what triggers my distraction and pulls me away from what I need to pay attention to!

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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