The Rat in my Garage – A Metaphysical Lesson

You probably know that I had a rat in my garage a couple of weeks ago.  Not only did this rat teach me a very valuable marketing lesson, it also taught me a valuable metaphysical lesson.

These days, I know that when I see an unusual animal or something unusual in the nature world, it’s time to pay attention to what the message is.  And this was no exception.

I turned to Ted Andrews’s book, “Animal Speak,” to see what the message is from seeing a rat.  (Ted Andrews was a shaman and he shared his wisdom in a number of his books.  “Animal Speak” is one of my favorite ones.)

According to Ted, rats are intelligent and are, of course, one of the zodiac in Chinese astr ology.  Have you ever hear of the year of the rat?  Apparently, Buddha felt they were o f such importance t h at he assigned a whole year to them.

Rat is about survival, it’s about being intelligent, and about being successful.  It is about being shrewd in business.  And Ted asks the reader if it’s time to pursue success more aggressively, to be more shrewd in all of their dealings.

Oh, wow, that one hit home.   Because I hadn’t expected a rat to be about business!

Ted goes on to say that the energy of the rat is there to help support the reader, or me, in this case, in whatever steps I need to take next.

And, you see, that’s why I turn to Ted.  Because left to my own devices, I would have believed that rat meant things like I was unclean, and I was a pack rat, or something more negative, you know?  Ted made that rather shocking encounter into something quite positive – and even delightful!  (Although frankly, I would have much rather seen the rat outside, if you know what I mean!)

But nonetheless, I am willing to take the lessons where I find them and often I’ve discovered that the lessons get honed-in even more intensely when I’m shocked, and I was truly shocked with this encounter.  I paid attention.

So here’s the lesson for us all in this: what messages from the Divine are you being given that perhaps you aren’t seeing?  Today, open your eyes a little wider to take in all that you are being given. The messages are there; it’s up to us to pay attention and to receive them.

Hugs, Anne