My tapestry of rich and royal hue

This weekend, at a First Nations Symposium, I was given a Blackfoot name by a renowned storyteller and educator.  He named me Pi’takii (pronounced Bee-DAW- gee) and pushed me gently on my back to symbolize my going forward with this new name.  I’d like to keep the translation to myself for a little while longer because it stills feels very new and special, but I WILL say that it incorporates the word ‘eagle’.  I immediately began looking for meaning in my new name, and here is what I’ve come up with:

 I’ve decided that since eagles are known for their keen eyesight, perhaps my new name is a reminder from the universe that eventually I will have a bird’s eye view of recent events in my life and will see the bigger picture which the Master Weaver saw all along.  With sufficient distance, perhaps I too will see that even the blackest threads were integral to the tapestry, and were part of a larger vision for my life.

On a less profound note, according to Wikipedia (the ultimate source of knowledge!), the earlier hatched chicks often kill their later hatched nest-mates while the parents look on and do nothing... which certainly resonates with me as the younger sibling of a sister who mercilessly tormented me, while my parents ‘tsk-tsk’ –ed me about learning to fight my own battles, when I solicited their intervention. (Note to my mother and sister: this is intended as humour and has not, I repeat NOT, been a topic explored in my many hours of pyschotherapy!)

As I continue my countdown this week to April 1^st- the one year mark of my status as ‘separated’, I think I might actually be getting better at learning to trust that my future holds more than working ridiculously long hours to compensate for the lack of a personal life, and growing old with a bunch of animals that greet me excitedly at the door when I return home from a conference.

The eagle builds the largest nest of all other North American birds, so as the mother of only one child, I can only assume that I need a big nest for a purpose other than motherhood.  Perhaps I will share my home with many people over the years to come (a revolving door for a series of dependent, co-habiting men? a shelter for the homeless? a refuge for battered women? or perhaps like Angelina Jolie, I will adopt my own little 'rainbow family'.) Perhaps I will win the Princess Margaret Hospital Lottery grand prize showhome.  At  more than 7000 square feet, it certainly qualifies as a large nest.

Eagles prefer to mate for life, but have no problem replacing a partner who disappears or with whom breeding attempts have failed.  Is the universe telling me to get out there and use my talons to snag me another bird in the sky?

Last but not least, the eagle has been described as the bird giving the most abiding impression of power and purpose in the air, and as the bird which ‘sails directly [to places] where lesser birds are rocked and tilted by the air currents.’  Clearly I have a distinct destiny indeed, and my oversized feet, large body, hooked beak and shrill voice will serve me well as I move purposefully toward the life that has been planned for me by the Creator.