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How do the animals respond when you step in the forest? Do they run and hide? Do they send out the alarm and scold you? If you walk with big heavy footsteps, talk loudly and pay more attention to your own thoughts than the world around you, then waves of disturbance will go out around you, like a boulder dropped in a pond. There will be waves of birds flying away and animals scurrying to hide.

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But if you walk slowly and softly, pausing to listen and look around you, paying attention to the world around you, you will have little impact on the forest. Your entrance will be more like a little pebble dropped in a pond that makes little ripples and soon goes back to normal...the pebble quickly becoming a part of the pond. 

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Why don't you practice walking quietly outside. See if you can be calm enough that the animals feel comfortable being close to you. The more you practice, and the longer you spend time with them, the easier this will be. Just like new friendships with humans, other animals need time to feel safe and relaxed in order to get to know you. 

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Have fun!

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