Earlier this summer, I was out in nature at the state park near my home. As I walked the gravel trail, my mind busily prepared a teaching on power animals for an upcoming class.

All creatures, by virtue of their innate abilities, have power. There isn’t a certain group of animals that make better or more helpful power animals.

Mouse came into my awareness as the perfect illustration of this point. Not many people like mice. Who would welcome a mouse as their power animal in place of a majestic eagle or a ferocious cougar?

So I pondered mouse energy. My mind recalled reading in a power animal reference guide that mouse energy is about details. Mice can turn the smallest crumb of food into a meal, and they can fit through cracks and holes in buildings people don’t even notice.

For someone who wanted to be more organized and keep track of the details in their life, mouse could be a very helpful power animal.

With that bit of lecture worked out, I could relax and enjoy my walk.

About five minutes further up the path, I noticed what appeared to be a black stone by the side of the trail. But then the stone started to move. Definitely not a rock. It disappeared underneath the thin layer of leaf litter, accompanied by the sound of rustling. When it came out again, I could see it was a mouse.

While I stood and watched, it explored the ground at my feet, unconcerned that it could be stomped on at any moment by something much larger than itself. This mouse was so involved in the details of what it was looking for, it didn’t even notice I was there. How ironic, given where my mind had just been.

While mouse energy may be about details, the message from this particular mouse was not to get so engrossed in the details we forget to lift our head up occasionally and see the big picture.

The mouse reinforced an important lesson that day.

With any sign or message we receive, if we let ourselves be guided by what we observe and trust what our heart tells us, we will unlock the meaning behind the message. We don’t need a reference material or an outside expert to decode or interpret the experience. Trusting our inner knowing will lead to a meaning that holds truth for us in the moment.