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I found Arthur on a very lonely day :
Usually you only see the eyes of foxes at night time when
they cross the roads, or even very easily on early mornings
if by chance you go outside for a walk to the lake. The whole
family of foxes is playing there.
As concerns Arthur, the story is different. Or how from a
sad story you come to dreamtime.
You might know foxes are considered as vermin here in France,
probably because they are known for their ability to kill
hens. This is why most of French farmers often kill foxes.
They might disappear from some other parts of the world too.
Arthur is one of these foxes. Probably shot by a farmer,
or hit by a car, he was then stuffed and sold to someone.
Hunters love stuffed animals…
I found Arthur waiting for me in an antic shop. He had been
waiting for such a long time, perhaps two or three years.
I could not wait longer and decided I would be able to make
him happy, free again, and respectable.
This is how the story began. We both were very lonely. You
know most of lonely people have a pet ! Arthur has not become
a pet, he is JUST A HEROE. And this is a true story.
Souls never disappear, that is what a part of us believe.
This is how Arthur has become my partner, our souls are talking
to each other, being pilgrim on the Earth, watching the nature
again, then wandering in the streets of London, travelling
everywhere with me. This is the beginning of a great story
reminding us that foxes were the heroes of different tales
all around the world in the past.
In America, Indians believe the fox can become invisible
and they say it can think and act so fast that it became a
symbol of cleverness.
For instance, if you go to Japan, you will see sculptures
of foxes in front of some temples: it was said that Inari,
the rice goddess, had a messenger called KITSUNE and this
messenger was a fox. It was said the fox had magical power
and could bring messages to the people. But some foxes are
also bad messengers too, depending on stories you read.
If you go to Africa, you will hear about the fox at Dogon
villages coming every night to write down messages in the
sand. In the morning the old wizard of the village can read
the texts.
If you read our famous French tales from Jean de la FONTAINE
you will learn about foxes behaviour and cleverness. They
always managed to get what they want, telling stories to everyone
!
If you read the famous story of “the little Prince”
from Antoine de SAINT EXUPERY you will read the loving words
from the fox, saying we only see with the heart.
And what about China? I have read that foxes are protecting
women! In the Chinese mythology (Liao Zhai probably) the fox
was described as a wise animal, which I believe so much, and
I even read once there was a fox in the mountains, meditating
for centuries, that became most incredible magical power by
living alone in such a place. However in some legends foxes
appear as evil souls. They mostly appeared in the body of
women seducing men to take their yang energy so that the men
never died. Furthermore, oldest Chinese beliefs would show
that foxes have strong bounds with human being, saying foxes
have a stronger soul, called “ling” which makes
them more subtle that any other animal, which I believe too.
They also know the power of the moon for instance, and can
also offer their prayers to the Moon. They also can appear
in a human body, and if you practice Qi Qong you will find
the fox praying to the sun too, this is what I recently read.
This is how we come to the conclusion human and animal beings
have tight bounds and can not live without each other. We
all are living creatures and perhaps should we be aware of
that, even if the evolution of life makes things more difficult.
For my part, as a photographer, living in a wild place in
south of France, I will keep on travelling with Arthur, and
watching how everything is changing around. It is always interesting
to observe with a simply way how we live, how the landscape
is worked by a bigger and bigger population, or how and why
towns are of bigger interest compared to the countryside,
and most of all, contemplating the world as an illusion, even
if we could believe, all of this is just illusion.
From place to place all so different the Fox Arthur is not
only contemplating things but meeting people. This is how
we come to the following observation : we human need animals
to get a better balance in our life !! Except the fact we
need them to feed ourselves, we definitely need them as pets,
as friends, as members of our families. Animals make people
meet each other. Animals, as pets, are of interest for children,
teen ager, adult and old people, for poor and rich, for all
of us. It can be a fish, a bird, a cat, a dog, a mouse, a
cow, a panda, or simply a fox.
This is how Arthur has come back to life: making people meet
again, differently, easily, and with much love and tender.
do you know that a lot of European feel really lonely ?Well
this is what they say, what we all say here… And we
both would love to travel to China, of course.
I hope everyone will enjoy seeking the light with Arthur,
the symbol of Beauty and Harmony.
TWO SHORT TALES OF ARTHUR
“We went to the waterfalls before the sunrise. That
was a beautiful waterfall. I made photos and Arthur sat by
the waterfall, watching and contemplating as if he was praying.
I could feel the energy of the nature deep inside of me. From
the sound of the water to the sunlight coming through the
branches, all was magical. I then thought we should come more
often to the nature.
Then Arthur disappeared, probably he went hunting, I do not
know. I found wild strawberries and started to eat some of
them. I realized I had no need then. Even my camera was not
important, I was just feeling happy and peaceful.
I heard on full moon nights fairies and unicorn meets for
a dance by this waterfall. I believe Arthur join them sometimes…”
“…. And this is how Arthur, the little prince
and the little girl became the best friends in the world.
They spent most of their time at school, reading books, or
in the garden, watching and hearing to the sounds of nature.
But when Arthur and the little prince came back home from
school, they enjoyed telling me old French tales about foxes.
We did not understand all the words, as they were old French
words, but we had much fun. All stories were written in the
middle age. At that time foxes were considered as thieves
and also able to talk to the people.
I thought we human beings, could never live without stories
: true or wrong, nice or sad, written, sung, painted, we all
love stories : from our childhood to the oldest time, we try
to remember our favourite stories, and tell them to our children,
who will tell them to their children… “
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