Hunker Down Says Bear 

“The spirit of the bear is a strong source of support in times of difficulty. It provides courage and a stable foundation to face challenges. When the bear shows up as a spirit guide in your life, it’s perhaps time to stand for your beliefs or your truth. This power animal will provide for support and strength.”

– Elena Harris, Spirit Animal

“There’s a BEAR!” yelled my friend, who was driving.

I looked to where he was pointing. Sure enough, ambling down the train tracks (that are no longer in commission), in the town where we live, was a huge black bear. He looked fat, happy, and healthy…perhaps out for one last feed before heading into hibernation for the winter.

My friend turned his truck around and we drove back to have another look. The bear was beautiful. But I was glad to be inside the vehicle.

“That,” I said, as we were driving away, “was an omen.”

“For?” he asked.

“Me,” I said.

And then this old saying popped into my head: “As within, so without.”

When I got home, I looked up the possible spiritual significance of seeing a bear. According to the “Spirit Animal Totems” website, “Black bear symbolism is about introspection…the bear is letting you know that it is time to go inward.”

Check.

“People with the black bear totem,” explained that same website, “have a great deal of patience in manifesting their ideas and projects. They excel in waiting for just the right moment to spring them on the universe.”

Check. I have been working on several large writing projects for more than a decade and I sense the time is near to…spring them on the universe.

I looked up that old adage, “So within, so without,” and found this explanation on the Total Soulful Journey website:

“This expression is considered to be a universal truth or law which shows us that the outside world is a reflection of our inner world. What we feel and what we believe have a tendency to manifest in our lives. For this reason, it is very important to raise our awareness regarding this universal truth and to understand how it applies to our lives.”

So I did a little more on-line digging and unearthed some further possible symbolism, in terms of bear-like qualities that I could perhaps be better utilizing: being grounded, having confidence, being quiet, looking inward, being more reflective, embracing solitude, finding my inner strength, mustering the courage necessary to take my work projects to the next level, and continuing to build a strong foundation for the challenges we are facing…in both the present and the future.

This is what I am choosing to take from my bear sighting: it is time for me to hunker down at home—hibernate—and focus on getting a few key writing projects, the ones that are so close to completion, to their next phase.

Thanks to the second wave of the pandemic, the subsequent spike in COVID19 cases and the resultant restrictions on travel and socializing, I – like so many – am being pushed into hibernation. I have no choice but to stay home, go within, hunker down, rest lots and do the work that needs to get done…that I want to get done.

To be honest, I am grateful that the increased – and necessary – pandemic restrictions means that visitors will not be allowed to disrupt me for the next few months. Nor will I be able to travel anytime soon.

This is an extremely difficult time for many, and I empathize with the millions of people who are struggling…physically, emotionally, mentally, financially and/or spiritually.

But on the flip side, this particular period in history is granting some of us solitary types the chance to hibernate in peaceful and productive silence inside our respective dens…to get done the work we are here to do.

I shall not waste this opportunity.

What are your thoughts on spirit animals?

Are you able to tap into the bear-like qualities during this second wave of the pandemic?

Maryanne Pope is the author of A Widow’s Awakening, the playwright of Saviour and the screenwriter of God’s Country. Maryanne is CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and a Director with the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. To receive her weekly blog, Weekly Words of Wisdom, please sign up here.