I am currently out west finalizing a project that has been a pillar of my healing for the past 10 years. She has been a dear companion of mine and her name is Feral Warrior. The Feral Warrior is children’s book I wrote about a brave little squirrel that reminds us of the power of peace and kindness that resides within.

Feral Warrior came to me one night many moons ago when I was in the throes of my battle with ulcerative colitis. It was perhaps the most sick and scared I have ever felt in my life. Unable to sleep, too late to call family and too weak to take myself to the hospital, I turned to my most reliable self-soothing skill, pencil and paper. As I opened my sketchbook I suspected that I would begin drawing but to my surprise words started streaming out of my hand. It felt as if my hand was being used as a conduit for another force, a creative force. This was by far the most potent experience I've have ever had of this sensation. My hand could hardly keep up with the words, line after line and rhyme after rhyme, it just kept going. It came and went in one fell swoop and when complete I felt a sense of pure surrender and passed out.

When I woke my sketchbook and pencil were laying next to me in bed. I wasn't quite sure what had happened or if I dreamt the experience. With a calm belly and a hopeful heart I opened the sketchbook and began to read the words on the pages. They were so familiar and so true. I laid in bed for hours reading and rereading them over and over with a deep sense of gratitude. Knowing that the Feral Warrior would be an important part of my future.

Fast forward 10 years later, the stars have aligned providing me with a dedicated pocket of time in space to tend to my dear old friend Feral. When my soul sister Zeile invited me to accompany her on a trip out west I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to complete the edits and illustrations of Feral Warrior. It sounded like the ideal situation, a beautiful environment with freedom from everyday life. So I said "yes" and here I am, writing from a completely serendipitous cabin in Grass Valley, CA. As soon as I stepped into the cabin I knew I was in the right place, the writing was on the wall, literally. The space was decorated with branches, stones, pinecones and feathers and painted with murals of snakes and trees with woodland creature wallpaper. I mean come on! As if that wasn't enough when I stepped onto the back patio I heard a sound I had never heard before. I followed it into the yard and way up high in the branches I found two sparkling eyes and one big bushy tail. It was Feral! She spoke to me for about 10 minutes with her weird little squirrel sounds, encouraging me to proceed and thanking me following through.

I am halfway through my writer's retreat and she has visited me everyday, by the window, on the porch or in the yard. All I know for sure is that in this very moment life is just right. The air sounds different moving through the trees out here and it kindly reminds me that I am on the right path and that the time is now. Now is the time to tend to Feral Warrior and to prepare her for the world! Stay tuned for more to come about The Feral Warrior.

With Joy & Gratitude,
Mesa

Introducing "The Feral Warior"