The Language of the World - An Alchemist Moment

In loving memory of Brother Dan, who first taught me of the Urim and the Thummim and spent many Sabbaths teaching me about Avram's encounter with Melchizedek at Mamre - Ahava

Caught between my fear that the motorists behind me would, in their rush hour impatience, not appreciate my holding up the traffic and my compelling realisation that this Egyptian Goose needed to get his family across the road, I had no idea of the blessing awaiting me.  With  a long stretched neck it had a funny beckoning sort of way of standing at the pavement curb.  The six little goslings were pecking at the ground all around their mother as little goslings are meant to do early in the morning.  I have seen them every morning and every afternoon that I cross the Princess Vlei (lake) at Roscommon Road.  Every morning and every afternoon they do what geese do.  But this morning the father goose had a definite sort of mission as he stood looking at the oncoming traffic even though his family seemed unperturbed continuing to peck in the gritty path.  I felt perhaps he wanted to cross the road and get his family to the other side.  With no cars behind me I stopped - it was after all a pedestrian crossing.  I hoped and prayed quite unrealistically,with all fingers crossed that there would not be another car behind me for a while at least.   I had not at that moment any idea of how to stop the oncoming traffic in the other lane. But if a person desires a thing enough the universe conspires right?

It was then ... in the moments to follow that I had an Alchemist moment when motorists unable to hear one another, the rush hour traffic, a father goose needing to take his family across a bridge, six busy little goslings and a mother goose, all ... in the midst of a strange silence ...  heard the Language of the World. I saw the need of the goose, the woman in the oncoming lane saw my need, the motorist behind me saw my daughter's need through the windscreen, the Goose trusted all of us to know his need, the goslings knew instinctively where to go and the Gander waddled some steps behind her family nodding elegantly to the left and to the right as she acknowledged us as though knowing the needs of human egos.

Being present to the present I received the omen as I crossed the water ... in the midst of great danger one can trust when one knows the Language of the World. Normally that bend seems busy but this morning it all seemed a little calmer and I somehow I think I  was not the only one present to the omen.

I also think before reading the Alchemist I might have missed this completely attributing it all to my love for animals.  After reading the Alchemist and having a language for things I always believed in and I feel incredibly blessed.  A dear friend used to say that he envied the way things happened to me.  He would have commented on the fact that these were Egyptian Geese of all animals.  I realise now that all that happened in all that time was that I knew my omens and I trust I still do. This morning they came as a family of geese - Egyptian Geese and a stream of motorists who used the Language of the World.  I don't know what they will be tomorrow.  I have though the shalom that the Urim and the Thummim are with me.

Perhaps you will not have Egyptian Geese when your omen arrives.  Perhaps it may not involve elements of danger and many motorists but "All is written by the same hand" or as they say in Egypt, "Muktab" ...

May you be present to your omen ...