Behind the big and obvious, there is always something small and underestimated. How close do you need to get in order to know something? How far away can you get before you lose sight of the situation?
All is dark as you lie in bed, eyes open, seeing nothing but your thoughts. A faint scratch, scratch whispers out from the wall behind you. You are not alone.
A tiny mammal is living her life unseen alongside your own life. She knows you are there. She has tracked your habits and when you leave cake crumbs on the counter she is certain they are for her.
The Mouse Spirit Animal Totem teaches us that behind the big and obvious, there is always something small and underestimated. How close do you need to get in order to know something? How far away can you get before you lose sight of the situation? Is it time to let go of the larger picture and delve deep into a detailed investigation? It is time to ‘get in there!’
If you are lacking information about some area of your life, The Mouse Spirit Animal Totem suggests that may need to approach closer to gather data.
Commit to the situation at hand by digging in. Wiggle through the tight spaces and investigate. The whole mansion is yours to explore so let your whiskers dust every surface. Ironically, the more specific we can get about something, the more universal our discoveries become. Much like trying to catch a mouse, if you head straight for something it zips away and leaves you wondering where to start. Mouse Medicine strategies advise against direct routes at this time. Backroads, zig-zags, and just plain hiding might be more productive.
On the other hand, it is easy to scrutinize something (or someone) to the vanishing point. Mouse is always asking how do we keep things in proportion? Has something in your life taken on monumental importance and become impossible to approach? Creative endeavors often do. Writers of books do not sit down and write books. They write sentences which lead to paragraphs, adding up to chapters which result in a book. One crumb at a time is the tactic to take when Mouse is about. Keep a productive perspective on reality and breaking down goals into bite-sized bits. Relationships are also a practice in proportions. If you are dealing with a true friend, know that there is time enough for miscommunication to untangle itself. No need to hurry or obsess. Communication is good, but that doesn’t always mean ‘talking.’ Use body language, notes, gestures of gifts. If you are feeling overwhelmed, find a situation you feel big and good at for a while as you manage your learning curve frustrations. If you are tired of being the leader always in the middle of things, find a way to step out for a bit and retreat into being small. We are always shifting between visible/invisible, big/small, beginner/expert.
Mouse Medicine Affirmations:
-It is useful to be small and unnoticed sometimes. I don’t always have to be visible.
-I am at peace with the task at hand.
-This situation is do-able. It breaks down easily and with grace into manageable tasks.
-I need only look right in front of me and accept reality to know what to do next.
Mouse is disconcertingly fast and almost impossible to catch barehanded. She must be lured out. Her teachings also remind us to be aware of that which is hidden before it eats away at our storehouse of grain. Like her neighbor, the Ant, Mouse Medicine is a ‘power-in-numbers’ sort of energy which also has a certain relentlessness. With year-round fertility and a large litter of babies born at once, the mouse is a formidable survivor who, when left unchecked, completely demolished the human population of Medieval Europe.
Has someone started to encroach on your personal space with exhausting persistence? It may be time to simply vanish like a mouse into an unseen passageway and let the big guys carry on without you for a while. It is useful to let ourselves become small. If we have given all our energy to a particular puzzle and can find no further progress, it is wise to say, “I don’t know and I don’t know how to know at this time. I am moving on to something more manageable for me.” The message here is to take measure. All things, no matter how complex or well-funded are actually very simple and everything breaks down to manageable morsels. What is in your power to do at this time? What needs to stay and what needs to go? When we clean house we increase the size of our world. When we make space, new friends are able to appear and carry us beyond our limited view into a larger beauty.
