A Moment With Wolves
How stillness led to one of the most surreal encounters of my life.
I don’t usually share personal stories — I like to keep my life pseudo-private — but something wild happened recently that I can’t shake. It feels worth telling.
I was in the Great Bear Rainforest, chasing an experience I’ve been chasing for years: the elusive wolves of the Pacific Northwest. Wolves aren’t just shy. They are private, careful, almost sacred creatures. Tracking them requires patience, humility, and the quiet willingness to be invisible. You learn quickly that they move on their own terms, that they are not for us to control, and that any encounter is a gift, not a right.
One day, I kayaked up a river head, following the flow of the water through old-growth forests and misted hills. I had my own quiet thoughts, reflecting on the passage of time, on life, on the small ways we move through the world unnoticed. And then, my kayak got stuck on shallow rocks. It was the kind of frustrating, still moment where the world seems to pause — you can hear the river breathing around you.
I was about to turn back when I noticed movement in the trees.
One wolf stepped out of the forest, almost hesitantly, followed by another, then another, until the whole pack had revealed themselves. I froze. My mind raced in two directions at once: fear and awe. Wolves are apex predators — they could take down a fully grown grizzly. And yet, wolves almost never attack humans.
For what felt like a long, suspended moment, I simply existed there, in the water, with them. I did nothing but breathe, trying not to disturb the fragile trust of that encounter. And then, something I didn’t expect happened: they didn’t pass by. They came closer. One of them stopped within a few feet of me, looking, listening, trying to understand who — or what — I was.
It was spiritual in a way that I can’t fully put into words. A silent conversation between species, a reminder that some bonds run deeper than history, deeper than fear, deeper even than words. Wolves and humans have shared this planet for thousands of years. And yet, that bond feels increasingly fragile.
I’ve spent some time thinking about what this encounter meant. Two things, in particular, stand out:
Wolves are remarkable, intelligent, deeply social creatures, and their relationship with humans is more nuanced than most of us realize.
Right now, wolves in British Columbia are being killed at alarming rates. The Canadian government claims it’s to protect caribou populations. The reality is that oil companies are destroying caribou habitat, and wolves — once again — are caught in the middle.
The wolves didn’t ask to exist in a world like this. They are not only part of a complex ecosystem, they are part of our shared history, and they deserve protection. If you feel moved to act, to help them survive, you can support their protection here: Save BC Wolves
Moments like this — moments when a wild creature looks at you and trusts you enough to exist near you — remind me that the world is bigger than our routines, our fears, our screens. They remind me that stillness has its own power, that humility has its own reward, and that presence — truly being present — is a kind of reverence.
I plan to write poems about this encounter. I imagine the words will never fully capture it, and maybe that’s the point. Some experiences aren’t meant to be owned, only witnessed. Some beauty is fleeting, impermanent, and that is what makes it sacred.
Sometimes, the wild asks us to slow down. Sometimes, it asks us to see. Sometimes, it asks us to act.
If you’re moved to help, you don’t have to do everything — just one thing. One small choice can ripple outward. Protect a creature, honor the wilderness, bear witness to what cannot speak for itself.
Love from the shadows,
Atticus
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A shaman would have told you that an encounter with wolf is deeply symbolic. Wolf as a spirit animal, a pathfinder, with a deep intuitive and instinctual ability, crossed your path for a very potent reason. You are very fortunate indeed.
Remarkably poetic! Well worded as usual. Actually reading this alone in the bathroom amongst the most chaotic Friday at work, slowed down my anxiety and gave me a fresh breath of air. Much needed medicine as usual. Thank you for sharing such an intimate moment.