I am Wolf. I am brave, strong, capable, proud, and persistent. I am fierce but so loving. I am cunning and sly, but I only use that skill when needed. I only take just enough to survive, not more. I maintain the balance of many lands. I am hunted and feared, but I do not wish to do harm. I only wish to be alive, to do my part, to maintain the balance.

I am Wolf. I keep the herds moving so the trees can thrive. When I am no longer thriving, when Humans have killed too many of my kind, the whole chain that is Nature feels the affect, the whole circle is broken. If I am destroyed, the land can not survive and slowly it starts to fail at every level. The herd animals, unafraid of hunters, spend too much time eating and become lazy and complacent. They eat the young trees. Once these are over eaten, the root systems do not grow strong enough, the ground can not be sustained, the river beds begin to crumble into themselves. Once the riverbeds fold in, they die. When River dies, so do Fish, Insect, Bird, Frog and Beaver. Beaver and Wolf have always worked in tangent to keep River healthy and strong. When the birds and insects leave, the plant life begins to fail at all levels. These are our pollinators and we need them just as much as they need us. When the birds and insects no longer drop seeds onto the land, the Plants can no longer be born.

I usually take the weak, the old, the sick. In this way I help the herd animals evolve toward excellency. Other animals depend on us to leave pieces of animal for them to eat, in their nature order. Eagle, Bear, Hawk, Fox…These all help us to use all the parts of the animal we hunt.

I am not made for domesticity. You can not own me. Just as I can not own you. We are equal…your people just don’t understand that.

There is nothing better than running with my pack. I can feel Wind brushing along the tips of my thick fur. I can feel the strength of my muscles rippling pulsing me forward. If I were bigger or you were smaller, I would tell you to climb on my back and we could run through the trees together. We can do that in the dream world.

I have wisdom to share with the world, but human fear makes them deaf. You see yourself as separate from nature, afraid of what it will do if you lose control of it. Wolves know that we are not ever in control but rather we are in a symbiotic relationship with all aspects of nature. We give to Mother Nature our gratitude and our persistent work. We work for Her so that she might give back to us and so that She might thrive. She loves us – that is evident in the abundance She provides. She is Mother to us all. Why have you forsaken Her? Why have you tried to control, tame, and destroy her?

This is something I can not understand about humans. I see in humans the same fierceness as we have, but it comes from Fear. Don’t you know Fear will be the slow death of you? Truly there is nothing to fear. Death is natural, cycles are natural, sickness is natural. These things keep the balance. Like Sun and Moon, we are interconnected in a rhythmic way. You can take from us, yes. But when you take too many of us, you are only hurting all of us, including you.

Can you look into my wise eyes and see the medicine we offer you? Can you see the gift that is our unique offering to the world? Let us dance together in the woods, let us howl at Moon in gratitude. Come lay with us in Sun and rest. Learn about balance. See how interconnected we all are.

I am Wolf. I dream of a day when we can once again run free and do the job Mother brought us here to do. I am Wolf and I am Wild. I am Mother’s fierce servant. I am her Warrior.