It’s early Sunday morning as I write this on my Notes app. My 3 runner ducks, Blue, Tilly, and Wensley are contentedly foraging in the damp grass outside, seemingly untroubled by what happened on Thursday.

I was inside when I heard it. Desperate quacks unlike any sound my ducks had made before. 

Something primal took over. I ran outside screaming with a voice I didn’t recognize as my own and saw Blue pinned to the ground by a massive eagle, its talons gripping her body. The eagle, momentarily startled, released Blue and flew at me. I ducked. 

Blue was bleeding, silent with shock. Tilly and Wensley came out from hiding, running toward me as if I were their last hope in a suddenly dangerous world.

I stayed with them for hours. In the rain, in the fear, and in the fierce relief. Blue eventually made her way to water, letting it wash over her wounds. The blood rinsed away, feather by feather.

When two worlds collide and you’re caught in between

This encounter feels like the perfect metaphor for the energies moving through us right now. We’re standing at a particular threshold. One where two realities exist simultaneously. The wild and the tame. The planned and the unexpected. The world we try to control and the one that breaks through despite our best efforts.

We create our carefully structured lives, our protection systems, our routines. And then something comes literally from out of the blue to remind us how thin that illusion of control really is.

Blue’s secret is you can be wounded and unbroken at the same time

Today, Blue is doing remarkably well. Eating, drinking, waddling normally. Her feathers still bear the stains of her encounter, but her spirit is utterly unshaken.

I’ve been watching her closely for signs of trauma. But what I see instead is something like wisdom. She’s more alert now. She looks to the sky more often. But she hasn’t stopped venturing out. And she hasn’t stopped being exactly who she is.

When the wild breaks through, when loss or change or challenge swoops down, we have choices about how to respond. We can hide permanently. Build higher fences. Retreat from life.

Or we can do what Blue is doing: stay alert, acknowledge the danger, but continue living fully.

The questions to ask yourself when life ambushes you

Over the next several days, as we move through this threshold between worlds, think about where you’re trying to control what can’t be controlled. Just as my elaborate duck protection systems couldn’t prevent the eagle’s visit, some forces defy your careful planning. Hold your plans lightly.

Think about the wisdom the lives in your wounds. Blue’s encounter has left her more vigilant but not paralyzed. Your injuries contain intelligence if you listen without becoming defined by them.

How quickly do you rinse away what happens to you? Blue immediately sought water to cleanse her wounds. Think about where you might be refusing the very elements that could wash away your pain.

And who comes out of hiding to stand with you after danger passes? Notice who shows up for you in the aftermath of difficulty. Those are your true companions.

The surprising powers in your broken protections

Real safety isn’t about building impenetrable boundaries. It’s really about developing resilience for when those boundaries inevitably fail.

Blue didn’t need me to create a world where eagles don’t exist. She needed me to show up fully when one appeared. To stand with her afterward and help create conditions where healing could happen naturally.

Maybe that’s what we all need right now. Not promises that no harm will come, but companions who are willing to stand with us in the rain after the sky has struck.

What’s coming next week and why I’m both nervous and excited

Be gentle with yourself throughout this week. There’s a significant transition coming soon, and transitions require energy.

Just like Blue, you can acknowledge what’s happened and still keep moving forward. You can bear the stains of your experiences without being defined by them. And you can maintain vigilance without sacrificing joy.

The wild will always find ways to break through. That’s not a failure of planning. That’s the nature of being alive in a world we don’t control.

P.S. Thank you to everyone who’s held space for our little flock through my sharing on Instagram. Some often the most healing thing is knowing others bear witness to both our wounds and our resilience.

P.P.S. After sharing Blue’s encounter with the eagle, so many of you reached out asking how get through these moments when the wild breaks through our careful plans. The truth is, I don’t do it alone. None of us should have to. Which is why I created my Unlimited Soul Companion offering. When life ambushes you, you don’t always know what to ask or how to reach out. That’s when you need someone who checks on you first.

Unlike my original Unlimited where you initiate contact, with Unlimited Soul Companion, I reach out to you too. Every single day. A soul-level reaching that meets you exactly where you are. When you’re in the thick of it whether it’s grief, a health challenge, or a relationship transformation, you don’t have to remember to ask for support. It’s already there, waiting in your inbox or on your phone. 

If you’ve ever wished your soul could get mail, this is that.