...Log Cabins, Sweet Red Wine, Laughter & Bats

There are some people in life who bring out the best in you. With them, you are able to say whatever’s on your mind. You connect with them in a way that’s easy and unforced. ~M

Pick any one of the title words and there will be a story to follow. Ask any one of the four middle-aged, once hippie types females who spent a week together in a log cabin with one bathroom and uninvited midnight visitors, and each one will tell you their version of exactly what happened. The short of it is, (sorry girls) we once again became little screaming girls coving our heads with beach towels as we dodged the unwelcome flying critters.

I often wonder when things happen in three’s if there’s a symbolic meaning to it. In my life it has, it’s usually been either good or bad and rarely anything in between. But, being the curious woman I am, I wanted to know what the meaning of being visited by bats on three separate occasions meant. Let's face it; the bat isn't the most popular of animals. In fact, it's largely misunderstood and so therefore, many of its symbolic meanings are inappropriately fear-based. So together, we delved into the meaning of bats from the Native American perspective and this is what we found out about them after the last sleepless night in cabin number one.

The Native American animal symbolism of the bat comes from keen observation. These spiritual people recognized that the bat was highly sensitive to their surroundings and so therefore was considered a symbol of intuition, dreaming, and vision. This made the bat a powerful symbol for Native American shamans and medicine people. Often the spirit of the bat would be invoked when special energy was needed, like "night-sight" which is the ability to see through illusion or ambiguity and dive straight to the truth of matters.

The bat is a highly social creature and has strong family ties. They are very nurturing, exhibiting verbal communication, touching, and sensitivity to members of their group. The bat also symbolizes awareness of your surroundings and sensitivity to the feelings of others and perception on a psychic level. The bat is a symbol of rebirth and depth because it is a creature that lives in the belly of the Mother (Earth). From the womb-like caves, it emerges every evening at dusk; and so, from the womb it is reborn every evening.

Native Americans view the bat as a commitment to spiritual growth and self-improvement. It helps us reap some of the most profound rewards like:
· Dying to our ego
· Loving our enemies as ourselves
· Going within to touch our inner demons
· Exploring reality (which can be scary)
· Renewing our thoughts and beliefs on a moment-to-moment basis

All of these tasks can be harrowing experiences. This is why the Native American symbolism of the bat deals with initiation, because this creature takes us to outlandish extremes, and rest assured, the bat is never leaves our side while we are journeying.

Interestingly enough, our small group of like-minded women saw the symbolism of our nocturnal visitors. We came together after thirty-five years to a familiar place and put our differences and our pasts behind us. We touched and buried the demons that made us who we are and what we have become today because of them. We forgave one another for acts of betrayal. We talked, we cried, and we drank a lot of wine. We held onto one another and we laughed sometimes in a stupor for the lack of sleep. We did this until seven days passed.

These are a few things I leaned from this experience; incidentally, most of them are intrinsic of the Native American bat animal symbolism:
· Illusion
· Rebirth
· Dreams
· Intuition
· Initiation
· Journeying
· Inner Depth
· Communication

We were up early that last Saturday morning, our faces hurt from smiling, our throats sore from talking, our eyes red from the tears and lack of sleep (or was it from the burning sage and cigarette smoke?) After an emotional goodbye, we all went our separate ways hiding our tears behind our dark sunglasses and will ardently await our next reunion.

“It takes a while to earn the title “girl” friend and a lifetime to know its true meaning. But once this person enters your soul, she will walk forever beside you…”