I was waiting in the West Jet check-in line yesterday morning when a woman began talking to me about the crow on my arm. She found the crow intriguing because in her experience most people disliked crows. I gave her a Coles notes version of my spiritual connection to crows and my belief that I will be reincarnated as one if I follow my higher life path and choose that as my reward at the end of my journey. The lady (I never did learn her name – details, details… what’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet) looked at me… then opened up about her spirit animal.

 My new friend has always been very drawn to elephants because of the depth of their emotions. She had lived and worked in Africa for a few years and experienced first-hand the compassion, love, and “human depth” (for lack of a better term) of the emotions that these creatures experience and express. She told me a story about how she had once observed a herd of elephants gathered around a deep hole that a baby elephant had fallen into. Try as they might, they could not reach the baby with their trunks. When the baby eventually died in this hole, the elephants remained gathered around it, grieving, and she swore that she could actually see the tears streaming from their eyes… the energy surrounding the elephants was intense and forlorn. “Elephants feel like you and I, but no one takes the time to see…” Well, my new friend, we have to make a conscious decision to be awake and see.

After I validated her feelings, I asked the lady if she had ever seen the video chronicling the friendship between an elephant and a stray dog.  She had. Typically, when an elephant goes to a sanctuary in its old age, it forms a relationship with [just] one other elephant, and they become inseparable companions.  Well, in this particular instance, an elephant and a stray dog became best friends, forming a bond that symbolizes everything that love, companionship, and loyalty should be. The video of this relationship really moved me when I first saw it – warm heart, beaming smile, tears in eyes – and continues to do so whenever I watch it.  Check it out.  In the least, it’ll fill your spirit with a fuzzy sense of hope.