I was revamping the garden of my Sonoran desert tortoise, Mo, shifting blocks in the retaining wall and putting in a few large planter boxes. Mo was trundling around, munching on grass and exploring, when he suddenly made a beeline to one of the large planters I had on its side as I was cleaning it.
He plodded around my feet and proceeded to climb into the planter. I picked him up and put him back on the ground to finish cleaning. He climbed back in. We repeated the scenario a few times with me laughing at Mo’s persistence and vaguely, in the background, puzzling about his unusual behavior as I stayed focused on my garden work.
Then, he got back in the planter, looked up at me, and communicated, “I don’t think you’re getting it, so I’ll tell you—I am playing with you.”
I laughed again when I realized that I was so accustomed to Mo’s usual quiet, serious manner, I didn’t realize that he was playing. I thanked him for his revelation.
I had been too focused on my garden chores to pay full attention to what Mo was doing or receive his intentions and feelings.
I also see Mo as such a wise, meditative, deep being who holds such ancient and spiritually uplifting energy. I missed seeing his lighter side.
The Foundation Now, if this were an animal communication consultation or I was just spending quiet time being with Mo instead of doing physically engrossing gardening work, I would have paid full attention to him. I would have put any former ideas about him aside and been fully present to what was going on with him. Listening with a fresh, open mind, I’d be ready for anything he would reveal, even surprising elements about him that I didn’t know before.
This is fundamental to really receiving and understanding full and true communication from anyone.
Surprise and Discovery Mo is a good teacher and got past my distractions of the moment to communicate what he wanted to say and fill in what I was wondering about his behavior in the back of my mind. He generally is not a conversationalist, and this pointed communication to me about his playfulness was unexpected. I was surprised and discovered something new about my tortoise friend. How wonderful!
This also made me think about other times when Mo stopped what he was doing to get in the middle of the planting holes I was digging or to walk over my feet and between my legs while I was working in his garden.
It delighted me to realize how Mo can shift rapidly from meditative, ancient spirit mode to mischievous, playful companion. He has only been with me for about nineteen months, eleven of which he spent in brumation (cold weather sleep), so our physical relationship is fairly new, though very old in other ways. I look forward to more adventures with treasured friend and teacher, Mo.
Lesson: Listen well and be open to surprises and discoveries about your animal friends at any time.
