This owl has been with me for years.
Not as a sudden realization. Not as a recent discovery. It has quietly lived on my phone screen and my laptop wallpaper since around 2017. An owl shaped like a dreamcatcher. Two dreamcatchers, actually. Symmetrical. Still. Watching.
I do not even remember exactly where I found it. Pinterest, maybe. It just appeared at some point in my learning phase. What I remember clearly is this: after that, nothing else ever felt right. I tried changing wallpapers, but nothing stayed. This one always came back.
At that time, I thought it was manifestation.
I had just stepped into network marketing, mindset work, marketing, growth. I had read The Secret. I genuinely believed that what you focus on, you attract. So I assumed the owl was just something I liked visually, something aligned with the phase I was in.
But the longer it stayed, the more it felt like it was not random.
What I Knew About the Owl Back Then
I did not know much symbolism at that time. No mythology. No deep spiritual meaning.
But I knew one thing about the owl, and that one thing stayed with me:
- The owl can sit still for hours
- It does not waste energy
- It waits patiently
- It acts only when the timing is perfect
That alone felt personal.
I have always worked like that.
I observe first. I watch patterns. I do not like wasting effort reacting too early. Even today, if I know something will play out in two or three years, I am okay waiting. I would rather strike at the right moment than exhaust myself trying to force things.
That patience never felt like weakness to me. It felt like discipline.
The Dreamcatcher Was Not Random Either
There is another layer to why this image stayed with me.
During my early learning days, someone once told me something very honestly. My closest friend and I were partners back then, teammates working together in marketing.
He had natural talent. Charisma. Things came easier to him.
I did not.
And I never took that negatively.
I always believed one thing: if I am not the most talented person in the room, I can still outwork everyone. Talent can be developed. Skill can be built. Effort is in my control.
This image has two dreamcatchers, not one.
Back then, my thinking was simple, even a little silly, but honest:
- If someone can manifest something with normal effort
- I will manifest it with double effort
- If someone works 8 hours, I will work 16 or more
- If someone dreams once, I will dream twice
The two dreamcatchers became a reminder. I might need to work harder, but I was willing to do it.
And I still am.
What I Understand About the Owl Now
Only recently did I learn more about what the owl actually represents. And strangely, it aligns with how I have already been living.
The owl symbolizes:
- Clarity in darkness, the ability to see when situations are confusing
- Awareness, noticing things others miss
- Silence, moving without announcing every step
- Patience, waiting without anxiety
- Precision, acting once, but correctly
The owl does not rush. It does not panic. It does not chase attention. It watches, understands, and then moves.
Even the mystery around the owl makes sense now. It lives in the night. Humans fear what they cannot see clearly, so some cultures feared owls, some worshipped them. But the owl itself was never trying to be anything. It was just functioning in its nature.
I also recently learned that in Hindu symbolism, the owl is the vahana of Goddess Lakshmi. Wealth paired with awareness. Prosperity guided by wisdom. A reminder that money without clarity can blind you.
I did not choose the owl knowing this.
Yet it stayed with me through years of growth, struggle, learning, work, and mindset shifts.
That feels meaningful.
Looking Back
This wallpaper was never just decoration.
It reminded me to:
- stay still before acting
- work harder without complaint
- wait for the right timing
- trust long-term thinking
- keep dreaming, even if it takes more effort
And when I look at my life now, the people I have worked with, the environments I have been part of, the kind of circles I found myself in, most of them aligned with growth, learning, and shared goals.
Maybe manifestation worked.
Or maybe clarity, patience, and effort naturally shape the life you end up with.
Either way, the owl stayed. And I am glad it did.