For the past few weeks wherever I've gone, he's been there. I'll sit down to drink some tea and he comes over to share some thoughts. I take a long stroll into the woods, but when I stop to listen, I know he's following. When performing some action, I am struck by how he would do it better. There seems to be no way to escape him.

But that's okay, cause I don't want to.

`He' is the Snake, a wise old teacher (as much a she as a he, obviously), with much to say to those people who crawl in the dirt of Life. But Snake won't just come out and tell secrets, Snake just guides, preferring to make people find the wisdom on their own. Knowledge becomes more personal and more powerful that way.

Ever since my first real awakening to Snake, I have felt drawn to learn her secrets. She is a great mystery to me, sleek in form and structure, and so strong when her purpose is upon her. In old myths, the Snake (as well as the Winged Snake, the Dragon) was portrayed as a guardian of treasures. I am easily enticed by the promise of mysteries, perhaps too easily sometimes.

Over these past weeks I came to think about Snake a lot. One of the things I pondered was her senses. She seems to emphasize a greater ability to feel things, through the vibrations around her, in the ground, upon the wind. I remember reading in a book a line that spoke of this sense, "He had not gone far before he came across a rattlesnake. The rattlesnake... had noticed him long before, as a rumble in the earth and an approaching warmth in the air. (from "The Book of the Vision Quest," by Stephen Foster and Meredith Little, an excellent book) That is sensitivity, really knowing things by feeling. Not just being aware of what you are touching, sensing, but also all of the things that it is touching as well. When one gets good enough, who knows how far such awareness might extend. And that is the kind of awareness which could help many people.

Recently I have found myself `listening' to things that underlay conversations. The subtle intonations that speak of a persons faith in their words, the darting of eyes that show who someone might be trying to impress with their talk. Really small things, perceptions that others might not think about too much, and that some probably don't even believe in. Sometimes it gives me much insight into the mind and thereby the reality of those I am with. It is like feeling with other senses the honesty and conviction that the speaker has. As well as the purpose behind his or her words.

If one cares enough to try, such observations can be used to the benefit of those around you. With this knowledge, one can better understand the other person, and helping him or her becomes easier. I think it is from such understanding of others that compassion grows.

I also thought about the speed of Snake. The way she seizes up opportunities in her jaws as fast as a snap of the fingers. Her aggressiveness, her vitality. She can switch to such speed from positions of absolute stillness. That is focus, something I have long wanted to acquire. To be so aware, so centered as to recognize an opening and then drive straight through into it.

At such moments I find myself caught up with indecision. `Should I try for it?' `What will happen if I fail?' Is it really an opportunity or just my imagination?' And by then the door is already closed.

Snake does not seem to have this problem. She waits, feels, watches, and when a moment comes... BOOM! No second thoughts, just driving in with all of her focus, because her life depends on it.

Her life depends on it...

I wonder if this has to do with my problems to achieve this level? My life does not depend on it. If I miss something, I will not die, I simply will continue on as I have been. I will wait for the next opportunity, and probably miss that one too. I have been living like this for as long as I can remember. No really threatening moments, certainly nothing that promises death with the wrong move. Nothing forces me to focus myself, nothing external to me, that is... hmmm.

It is hard to be focused when you don't know what to focus on, and I have that problem a lot. Maybe that is something I can learn from her, from Snake.