I love the scene in the movie Apocalypse Now when Chef and Willard head into the jungle from the patrol boat only to encounter a Tiger lurking in the underbrush ... Sighting the majestic feline sends them screaming (okay swearing) back to the boat and vowing never to get out of the boat again ...If you google the scene you will find a number of web pages that raise and discuss the metaphoric meaning of the scene ... it's interesting, but to me irrelevant ... the meaning of the scene for me comes from the feline's view ... He is doing what he's always done - moving quietly and stealthily through his forest home ... always watching ... always aware of what's happening around him ... just living his life in the comfort of his home ...
You don't become an Alpha Predator without being able to move through your realm like a phantom who fades and appears almost at will ... sometimes standing boldly in the open ... other times watching hidden in the shadows ... and still other times watching from the underbrush, observed by ONLY the most aware ...
The tiger lurks ... neither a threat nor a docile presence ... but yet embodying something dangerous and untamed ... the visceral fear a tiger invokes is because it often appears silently, and without warning ... and it's teeth, claws and size invoke only terror ... but even in that, the tiger is no threat to those who have not first threatened it first ... it is suggested that the moniker of "man-eater" applies only to Tigers who have learned to fear human intrusions to its territory, and who have learned that Man is a REAL threat rather than a quirky non-food entity that historically has moved easily and unmolested through Tiger territory.
A book I'm reading even suggests that Tigers and human beings lived side by side for millenia BEFORE Tigers began attacking humans at all ... the reason for the attacks?? The author, with numerous studies to back this view claims that Tigers learned to regard humans as prey only in response to the aggressiveness of Humans themselves - researchers suggest man-eaters LEARNED that behaviour in response to US!! It's an interesting theory and it make almost too much sense ...
So today, this tiger remains in a quiet place ... resting ... watching ... listening ... reflecting ... and just being present to the moment ... when I said earlier this week that I am seeking a quiet place, that's where I am ... I am NOT shutting down this blog ... and I am not totally silencing my voice ... but I am stepping back and letting my heart, soul and mind be immersed in the quiet of NOW ...
I will speak when I feel compelled to ... and I will remain silent as I need ... right now, this tiger is out there in the underbrush, wandering through the shadows, pausing in the light ... and taking time to discern the paths from the depths of the valley I have found myself in, and BACK up into the highlands ...
This morning I stepped out of the shadows and was warmly welcomed in as "one of the family" ... and now, as I step back into the quiet shadows, I savour the gift of acceptance and love that washed over me ... and I await further whispers of the the Spirit to guide me forward ...
Until then ... I'll watch, wait, and savour the quiet place I've discovered ... I'll be lurking somewhere ... floating on the currents, and no longer fearing the water, but just enjoying its tranquility ...
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