Walking with coyotes

This week, I’m in Debert offering a five-day Veteran’s program. Each morning in the six am darkness, I lace up my boots, sling on my backpack, and head out for a practice hike. One local warned me to watch for coyotes. I laughed it off until the next morning, when the beam of my headlamp caught the fleeting form of a coyote skirting around the side of a building.

For a moment, I wondered if I should stop walking in the mornings. The thought came quickly, followed by another: how often does fear of the unknown stop us from moving forward?

It’s easy to let fear grow large in our imagination. Perhaps there are more coyotes out there. Perhaps they’re waiting just beyond the edge of the light. But courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s moving forward, even when we feel it. So, I adjusted my pack, imagined an offensive stance, and kept going.

No encounters today. Truth be told, the coyote I saw yesterday looked more afraid of me than I was of it.

Tackling trauma can be a lot like meeting coyotes on a dark road. Our fears, real or imagined, can keep us locked away, isolated and alone. But when we walk together, shining light on what scares us, we find safety in connection and strength in numbers. Sometimes, just stepping forward is enough to remind us: we’re not alone in the dark.

Warmly,

Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych.
Executive Director, Landing Strong