During the summer of 2014, we had a family of hawks living behind the gallery. Watching the fledglings learn how to become hawks was addictive. We soon had customers and friends stopping by regularly to watch the young hawks as they learned to dive, hunt, and weather a heavy rainstorm. The hawks would let out shrill cries announcing their return to their nesting area, and we would run out back to watch and photograph them. Being around all that hawk energy got us thinking about the symbolic and totemic hawk that lives in our hearts, and the insights, ideas, and lessons that the hawk offers us. So here are ideas about how you might explore the hawk as a "teacher."
The Hawk in Our Hearts
The hawk teaches us the value of perspective, reminding us to keep our eyes open as we survey the “bigger picture” of a situation. A hawk can see a rabbit from hundreds of feet in the air by reading the terrain, symbolizing the ability to see into and interpret. The hawk symbolically asks us if there are signs or signals that we are not seeing. This could be an opportunity that is presenting itself, a relationship that isn’t what it seems, or a part of ourselves that we keep in shadow. As a powerful raptor that is swift to seize its prey, the hawk also asks us to consider our own power and how we use it. Are we taking action and diving into situations in order to get what we want, or are we spending too much time sitting on a comfortable perch, hoping things will to come to us? Conversely, the hawk also calls our attention to whether we are being too “hawkish,” by reacting too quickly, and seizing more control than we need. Finally, the hawk reminds us to let ourselves soar, and not let anyone “clip our wings.”
"The Hawk in our Hearts" excerpted from the iOS app, Heart of the Ark
©2012 Belinda Recio. All rights reserved.