Premonitions of Skunks

Yes, I have an unusual life. This is another true story. I hope you all will remind me of this, if some catastrophe befalls me. ~ W.W. ~

July 7, 2005

Sometime in the darkness last night, I was awakened by an unseen companion. I was too sleepy to tell who/what it was. A sweet silent voice, possibly from within the dream (although I was fully awake) spoke to me. It said “A skunk scent is going to come in that bedroom window in a few minutes. When it does, you should understand it as a metaphor for life.”

I sniffed. No smell. What was this all about? What kind of metaphor for life could this be? And why did I need to be awakened for this? I lay there and wondered why I would dream this… only I was awake…. so what was going on… and why talk to me about skunk scent in the middle of the night…. metaphor for life?? I couldn’t get back to sleep.

Several minutes later, a horrible acrid stench began wafting through the window. I almost gagged from the potency that accumulated quickly. That skunk must have been right under our window. It was suffocatingly intense.

The gentle, kind voice was back, speaking silently into my awareness again. “This skunk smell is unpleasant, but you did nothing to bring it on yourself. You are not to blame. The skunk is not aiming the scent at you on purpose. You are just a witness.”

I thought about this. Yes, it’s true. Not really profound, but true.

The voice said “Sometimes in life, you receive a warning in advance that something unpleasant is going to happen to you. Remember the skunk smell. That is the metaphor for life that you should remember. If you receive a warning in advance that something unpleasant is going to happen to you, when it happens remember that you are just a witness. You did not bring it on yourself, and it is not aimed personally at you. Be the witness.”

Now this bizarre mid-night meeting was starting to form a coherent picture. Yes, I did receive a warning several minutes before the skunk sprayed. From the blinding, nauseating impact of the smell, it was clear that the skunk must have been right near the window. That also meant that the skunk had not yet sprayed when I was woken up and told about it, or I would have already smelled it.

Interesting.

As the pieces jostled together into the coherent picture, I began to wonder. Was THIS the warning? Is something unpleasant about to happen to me? Something so bad that I required a visit from a guardian angel to advise me to not take it personally? I have received other warnings before this, when something stressful is about to fall my way. I usually have a day to gather all my strength and wisdom, to pray and expand myself and connect with the cycles of nature, after a warning; thus I can handle it without collapse.
My brain thinks I should be getting pretty worried right about now, but I’m not. I feel peaceful, knowing that I am watched over with benevolence. Once I’ve written this story, to get it out of my system, I won’t fret. Either it will turn out to be a random nugget of wisdom handed to me in the night, or else something unpleasant will happen soon. If something nasty happens, I will stand back and witness it and feel grateful for the advice. I’ll remember the skunk.
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