Keepers of This World
Inspiring True Story
© Robin Easton - All Rights Reserved
No matter how small the body, the Soul is always highly intelligent and infinitely vast.
-© Robin Easton
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Keepers of this World
Many summers ago, I ran barefoot along a beautiful mountain trail in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains here in northern New Mexico. All around me, towering ponderosas wafted their sun-warmed vanilla aroma into the summer air. The comforting scent reminded me of my childhood and the smell of baking cookies in Mom’s kitchen.
I had run about a mile and a half down the trail when I heard voices up ahead. This section of trail was very steep and in places only wide enough for one person, so I slowed my pace.
As I came around a bend, I encountered a young father, two little girls, and their grandmother. They stood on the trail about a hundred feet ahead of me. At my approach, the older, dark-haired girl took her dad’s hand and moved close to his side. She looked about seven years old. The other little girl who wasn’t more than five years old, stepped eagerly toward me, curious. The sun hit her long blond hair and transformed it into a glowing halo around her tiny, delicate face. As I drew closer, her blue eyes grew huge and lit with joy when she saw me, as if she knew me. She immediately exclaimed, "Oh Daddy, look! She’s a deer keeper. Daddy, look!"
I silently chuckled with delight as a huge smile lit my face. Then, I saw the Dad roll his eyes, as he muttered, "No, she’s not a deer keeper; she’s just another hiker. That’s all." My heart squeezed with pain at his crushing words, and the little girl's face crumpled with hurt and shame. But, just as suddenly, from somewhere deep inside her a flame leaped to life. Indignation rose to protest, "No! That’s not true, Daddy. She's a deer keeper. Can’t you see it, Daddy?" Her tone demanded that her father stop being so shut down and see the obvious. I reveled in her fighting spirit and secretly cheered her on.
Her impatient father and bored-looking grandmother glanced at each other, shook their heads dismissively, and said, "I’ve no idea what she’s talking about." The father briefly asked me about the trail, how far, how steep, and so on. With obvious discomfort, both he and the grandmother avoided looking at my bare feet, as if I stood nude on the path. However, the little blond girl clapped her hands with delight, turned to her dad, and said, “Look, Daddy! Can I take my shoes off, too?” “No,” he almost barked, and then told the girls they were going back to the car.
I saw shame again flit across the little girl’s face threatening to snuff out all hope. I watched her shrink back into herself, joy retracted, rapidly dying in shame’s cruel grip. I started to speak, but the father was already marching forward.
I reluctantly waved goodbye and was about to jog off, when frustration made me stop. I didn’t know what I would say or do, but to see that little girl brushed off so callously unseen, was more than I could bear. All too often that had been the story of my own life, unseen and dismissed as silly, too sensitive, too happy, too emotional, too dreamy, too aware, too curious, too defiant, too magical, too smart for my own good, just too dang much…all my life.
I had to say something to this beautiful child…and to the child in me. When I turned to look back, the little girl stood alone on the trail. Her thin little arms hung limply at her sides, her head drooped like a wilted rose, so tragically woebegone. When she looked up, her clear blue eyes pleaded with me to say something. I could barely hold back my tears. I knew how she felt. She looked down at the ground and nudged a hole in the dirt with the toe of her tiny pink sneaker.
My heart ached for this little bird-of-a-being, such an aware soul. I could feel her genuine sadness, disillusionment, and embarrassment because no one believed that she had seen The Deer Keeper.
As I walked back to her, she glanced up. I quickly smiled and winked at her, and said, "I love being called The Deer Keeper. I'll always remember that name because I spend a lot of time with wild deer on the mountain where I live. They follow me up and down the mountain, and even come and stand beside me. Some mornings they come down the mountain and wait for me to come out and follow them up the trail.
”The deer are my best friends because I can really talk with them, even cry with them when I’m hurting. And they stay right beside me and listen. Do you know, they really understand me, usually better than most people? You’re like the deer because you understand me, too. You see things that other people don’t see. You see me, and the deer I love.
”I’ll tell you a secret that you’ll always remember. It’s something you already know in your heart. Often when we love something so much, like the deer, they become part of us. So, you not only see me, but you see the deer that live in my heart. And, because you love magic and want to go barefoot, I not only see you, but I see the magical barefoot fairy that lives in your heart. She has a lot of magic in her, all the magic of the whole world, even the stars. Do you know, The Deer Keeper is the most beautiful name I've ever been given? Now, I’d like to give you a name, The Magical Barefoot Fairy."
Her head shot up, tears shimmered in her sky-blue eyes, and her long blond hair swung about her shoulders, as she angrily told me, “But, Daddy won’t let me take my shoes off and walk in the dirt. He never does. I even have to wear shoes at the beach. Nobody wears shoes at the beach! Except me…”
My heart clenched with ache, but I said, “Do you know that one day you’ll be the same age that your dad is right now. When that day comes you can make your own choices, and you’ll remember to take off your shoes and walk barefoot on the Earth. And, you’ll remember to let your children do the same. Although you might have to wear shoes right now, inside your beautiful spirit, you are already barefoot. You were born barefoot. I’ll always remember meeting The Magical Barefoot Fairy in the woods, a magical fairy who lives in my heart forever. That’s you. And. you’ll always remember meeting The Deer Keeper. That’s me. We won’t forget each other.”
The glowing smile that met mine was so huge; I died a thousand willful deaths as I fell headlong into her love and hope. The brilliance of her soul was so bright, so absolute that it flooded into all the places of all the times I had never been seen. In an instant, those places were seen by this one tiny Barefoot Fairy. She immediately understood every single thing I told her. Her level of comprehension was light years beyond most adults. I knew she was a Seer…like me…like I too had been all my life.
This breathtaking light-of-a-child knew exactly what I meant when I said, “You know what I am talking about, don’t you?” Her eyebrows shot up, her eyes sparkled, her little mouth pursed impishly, as her head bobbed up and down and she burst out, “I know. I reeeeally know.” We both giggled and quivered with excitement.
We wanted to linger and talk and hug…but her dad called to her from the bend in the trail where he waited, barely tolerant, shaking his head as if, “This is ridiculous." I sensed he wasn’t worried about her talking with me. But rather, he had long ago forgotten his own magic and no longer believed in enchantment. But The Magical Barefoot Fairy and The Deer Keeper didn’t care because we had connected in a way that changed both our lives. As she turned to leave, her little bird-like voice thanked me. Five years old and she thanked me. My word, what a soul.
I can still see her running off, so filled with life, little pink sneakers and blond hair flying up the trail. She briefly stopped and waved, her tiny hand fluttering back and forth as hard as she could move it. Her whole life was in that wave, all of her love. I waved back just as hard, and we waved again and again until she was out of sight. Or so I thought until I saw her peek around the bend one last time. She jumped up and down waving her thin little arms, blond hair bouncing, and her tiny voice squeaking out, “Thaaaank youuuu.” Then she was gone.
As I reluctantly continued my jog along the trail, tears of happiness blurred my vision, tears for her, tears for me, tears for the miracle of this mysterious life and the fully developed intelligence and awareness of the human soul, no matter how tiny the body. It no longer mattered what her dad or grandmother thought of me or of their wise little girl. My tiny Barefoot Fairy finally had wings, living proof, a real, felt experience, an exchange with another ‘Seer.’ She would never forget that. The imprint was absolute.
For a child in this ‘modern’ world to see a woman running barefoot through the forest, with her long hair flying down past her hips, must have seemed magical, like a storybook come to life. As a child, I too would have fallen in love with such a woman. I would have spun a thousand fairy-tales around her, creating a doorway straight into the Great Mystery…never to be forgotten.
Much love,
Roby
© Robin Easton – All Rights Reserved
-- EXCERPT FROM: Robin Easton's upcoming book, "Seeing the World With Wild Eyes."
Robin’s Thoughts
When I arrived home from my hike, I went into the bathroom to splash cold water on my face. I happened to glance in the vanity mirror, and there I saw The Deer Keeper, the woman I truly am.
This photo is twelve years old and blurred. I lost the full-sized original long ago. At the time, I took the photo to always remember what this beautiful little girl saw in me…the best part of me, the best part of Life. I took the photo to remind myself that there is no such thing as too sensitive, too emotional, too happy, too open, too wise, too loving, or too magical. I took it to remind myself that just because someone does not ‘See’ me, or understand me, that does not mean that what I see, feel, and understand does not exist. Through the bright light of this little girl, I am reminded that there are others like me in this world, others who feel and see with great sensitivity and awareness.
CHILDREN: WORTH SEEING
When we fail to see the fully developed intelligence of a child, this reflects very poorly on our own choice of intelligence. As adults, our absence of awareness often forces a child to internalize this lack of acknowledgment as something wrong with themselves. It can set a precedent for shame, mediocrity, lack of hope, and even despair.
When we fail to acknowledge the innate, intuitive intelligence of a child, we snuff out yet another spark of magic in the world, a spark birthed of brilliant stardust. It is time to rethink how we see, or do not see, our children. We must never underestimate the fully developed understanding, wisdom, and presence of a child. And, possibly….each other. It is time to ponder how much we might be missing. Like the Wild Ones that roam the forests, Children will show us who and what we really are, our full potential for acute intelligence…IF we are open.
I bow to the brave ‘Keepers’ of this world, Keepers of all ages, both human and non-human, the souls that are blessedly sensitive, seeing, and wise, the souls that are bold, and that courageously stay their unique course, often against the most drowning of currents. Yet, these brave souls rise again and again…compelled by love to share the Sweet Truth passing through them.
Thank you for walking with me…and allowing me to walk with You. It is a great privilege. ~ Love, Robin
© Robin Easton – All Rights Reserved
-- EXCERPT FROM: Robin Easton's upcoming book, "Seeing the World With Wild Eyes."