“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs
I have heard this proverb throughout my life, and I was pondering it this morning along with some reading from Animal Speak by Ted Andrews. I was brushing up on Vulture symbolism because they have shown up strongly in recent days.
Yesterday, I was floating in the lake for a couple of hours and vultures flew over me, circling directly above me for most of that time. They were flying closer than they ever have. Three vultures landed in a tree near me and perched there as if watching me. They seemed to be making it clear that they had a message for me. A couple of nights earlier, I had a dream: I was standing in a field when a host of Vultures suddenly arose from the horizon and flew towards me. There were hundreds of them. They were coming to me.
Vultures are one of my totems and I’ve learned to pay attention. According to Ted Andrews, Vulture can symbolize new vision. I was struck by his word “new”. I wonder if the people can also perish when they are stuck in an old vision—a vision that has run its course or that has turned sour. I can think of many ways in which I see this happening in our culture, and in my life.
I began thinking of a vision I have in my life that has turned sour. I have become somewhat attached to it, so of course the experience is sour. This morning I realized that I must change that vision if I want to change the experience. I don’t need to rework or strengthen the old vision; I need to completely change it. I need a new vision.
It seems that the vultures are showing up to help me create a new vision. And, as always, I realize that my life is a microcosm of the macrocosm. I am part of this world, and just as I need a new vision, so does our world. The old has soured, as has our experience.
Perhaps as I have the courage to let go of the old vision and embrace the new, I will impact my little life as well as the collective. What old vision are you holding onto? What new vision wants to open in you?
