A few days ago, we were driving out from home, all dressed up and prepared with our documents, for an appointment with Italian bureaucracy. We were focused on being ready and on time for getting down to town. Winding down our mountain road for the hundredth time becomes almost automatic, so I wasn’t paying much attention to the world outside other than driving the car carefully.
We were barely one kilometre from home and suddenly I glimpsed a large animal move from the roadside in front of us into a side track. It was a barely conscious, subliminal observation. Curious for confirmation, I slowed down and stopped to look up the track, expecting that if their was an animal, it would have disappeared, leaving me wondering. But to our utter surprise this very real and large creature stood motionless, less than 30 metres up the track, looking back at us.
It was definitely a wolf. Long in leg and lean. Grey brown in colour, and it stared back at our car, either nonchalantly unafraid of us in that moment, or possibly even defiant, as if to say: “Yes I am here in your neighbourhood and you can do nothing about it. So shut up your chickens if you want them to stay safe, because I am the top predator around here and you will not know when I am far away or when I am near and intending to stay. And you won’t know if I am a loner or or one of a pack. This is how we function and thrive!” This all raced through my mind in a brief moment of the wolf’s stare; and then he (or she) turned purposefully and slouched off into the bushes.
All this was racing through my mind as we drove away to get on with our day. I was quivering with shock mixed with excitement to learn that wolves had now reached our area. We had been hearing about their activity around properties and villages further into the mountains, but this was definitely a first for us. We discussed the possible symbolic significance of seeing a wolf on this particularly important day for us. But, having more pressing things to put our minds to, we let it go to look into later.
When I did a search, I found a number of interesting things. ‘What wolves mean in Christianity: The New Testament talks of being wary of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, or people with ill intentions, specifically in Matthew 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. This metaphor refers to Jesus, as the good shepherd, protecting his followers from evil forces and false prophets.” This message is strikingly prophetic for us!
At the same time, we have recently been discussing this very symbolism in politics. I had discovered that all leaders of the UK Labour Party, apart from Jeremy Corbin, have always been members of The Fabian Society, whose logo was, until recently, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Their hidden agenda is pretty dark, but they are very good at disguising it. Hence the appropriateness of this emblem.
Other, more positive meanings coming from tradition and new-age perspectives: ‘Seeing one is a message to trust nature and what the universe has in store for you.’ ‘Wolves represent protection and loyalty, strong intelligence, the desire for freedom, family and friendship, and are even a warning sign of threats or lack of trust in others or yourself.’ Lastly: ‘We may often use terms like ‘a lone wolf’ to describe a person who is very independent and solitary. Wolves themselves are social animals who live in packs. And just like wolves rely on their intuition and sharp instincts to survive, their spiritual meaning is quite similar. I have been drawn to wolf imagery and wolf symbolism for a long time, so this sighting did feel particularly special for me, with all the interpretations feeding into a poignant sense of personal significance for us at this time.
Today I walked that way again with our dogs. When we got to the place of the sighting, they started sniffing and leaving their cards more urgently than usual in specific places. Then they found some unfamiliar excrement in the middle of the track, further up from where we had seen the wolf a few days before. The faeces was very grassy with little solid material, as though whoever deposited it had been struggling to find carnivorous food. One of the dogs tried to rub his neck in it. Could it be wolf or the more usual and plentiful wild boar who inhabit the woods all around us.
When we got home, I asked http://www.justanswer.com why dogs do this and I got the following:
‘The two most widely accepted explanations date to the ancestor of the modern canine, the wolf. It is thought that rolling in another species’ faeces masks an animal’s own scent, and thereby makes them a more effective predator. While it may seem silly since most dogs don’t need to hunt, this instinct can be difficult for them to resist.’
Well it was our hunting breed who needed to smear himself, and if it was the wolf’s leavings, then he obviously knew he was onto a good thing!
We had rain all morning today, the first rain for weeks and the land had been crying our for it. Walking slowly back with the dogs, I took in the fresh smell of the land and the clarity in the air. The olive trees have been waiting for water for their roots to draw up much-needed moisture into their olives which are smaller than usual due to drought conditions, and starting to shrivel. I found myself willing the olives to plump up over the next days and weeks ready for our annual harvest, which is going to be early this year.
I took in the stillness all around and how the rain had enhanced everything around me with fresh colour; blankets of lichen spattered randomly on the olive trunks and branches, now a greenish verdigris in hue and shining against the wet black rough of the bark it clings to. And the leaves, intensely green where they had been looking so tired only twenty four hours before.
Filled with a love for this nature here, tough and resilient. I am silenced by the wonder of it all, by God’s grace and bountiful generosity, thanking The Lord Most High, for ‘The Glory of The Beauty of The Morning’, to quote the poet, Edward Thomas.
