I just love Moose Tracks ice cream. For some reason, I just really like the little peanut butter cups that give a sweet and chocolatey taste to the mainly vanilla ice cream. I get chided a lot for ordering it every time we stop for ice cream, but I like it… So, I feel a close affinity with the moose… 

One evening we were watching a program on television that involved a man who did long term studies on animals. For this program the man was following a moose and her newborn calf. He had an amazing ability in following different animals and being accepted by them. His tales are extremely interesting and very well done.

He took us through an entire year of following this mother with her calf. She taught her to stand and walk and forage for food. She modeled appropriate behavior and how to get the salt rich plants from the bottom of the ponds. These plants are essential for the moose survival. They avoided attack by wolves and other predators, but when the man finally came upon them in the spring, he witnessed the mother, who was expecting a new calf, sending the year old female away. This young female seemed bewildered at the actions of the mother. Her eyes looked somewhat startled at being shunned and ostracized by her maternal partner. She didn’t know what was happening and it was very apparent. She kept trying to come back and nuzzle with the mother moose only to be rejected and sent away again. The scene really sent a hurtful feeling to my heart…
Have you ever felt abandoned by a friend or someone you thought loved you?

Did you try and try to find out what you had done… to no avail… walking away bewildered and hurt… the individual(s) whom you had supported and loved and thought that they loved you… suddenly, you were no longer welcome… Did your eyes look startled like the young moose? Did your heart ache? Was there any logical explanation? Was there any way to heal the pain?

Seeing this moose being ostracized by her mother, was painful … But even in those times of abandonment and/or rejection, there is a positive side… for the year old moose calf, this is the way of the wild and the species. Moose are actually very solitary. This yearling moose was now old enough to have its own calf and to teach the next generation as her mother had taught her. It is according to the laws of nature. In much the same way, when we may feel ostracized or abandoned… God likely has another plan for us… a path to our destiny that can’t be achieved without this separation. A new tribe to be found and new community to prosper within…

Without doubt, we’re all being called to release the old ways of being in the world that no longer sustain us, and enter unknown territory. We’ll do so because we recognize that it’s no longer possible to find our security in the outer forms we’ve been conditioned to trust…Colette Baron Reid

There is a saying, ‘rejection is God’s protection’… So, we shan’t be too quick to stay sorrowful… rather it is a moment to look for new opportunities of spiritual growth and guidance from our Higher Power.

Be brave…