why brave little foxes?

Here we are - blog post number two!

Firstly I want to say an enormous thank you for all the support and lovely messages I’ve recieved from friends, family and endo warriors alike over the last few days. It’s been such an encouragement to see that people believe in me and my designs and are helping me to build this community and business.

I thought it would be nice to address a question that I’ve recieved a couple of times already, and understandably so… Why is it called Brave Little Foxes?

I suppose to most people it would seem to be an unusual choice; graphic design and chronic illnesses aren’t closely associated with foxes. But for me there’s a very significant reason behind the name…

It was early December in 2020. I was in the middle of rehearsals for a Christmas show at my drama school and was travelling back to my flat in Watford. It was around 10pm so I popped into Tesco to grab a ready meal for dinner before walking back to the flat.

For reference, this was around the time that my health was starting to take a turn for the worst; I was waiting for surgery, had recently sustained a back injury and was starting to notice a growing fatigue in my body whilst being ignored and dismissed by medical professionals. I was exhausted and at my wits’ end.

I turned off of the main road up towards my flat and noticed a small shadow to my left watching me. As I’m sure you’ve guessed - it was a fox.

Now this wasn’t your standard scrawny, scrappy fox searching in dustbins and squealing manically. This fox was pristine, a gorgeous clean red coat and piercing orange eyes that stared straight into mine. It seemed so out of place on the grubby streets of Watford, almost like it had stepped out of a storybook.

Initially I felt really lucky, I’ve always had a like for foxes and couldn’t believe my luck that this one was stood so calmly next to me, barely a foot away. I took a moment just to look at it and appreciate such a rare moment. I nearly reached for my phone, knowing that no one would believe how close I had been, but something told me to stay in the moment and not risk scaring it away by putting a camera in it’s face.

After taking those brief seconds to acknowledge it, I continued walking towards the flat before turning to check on the fox as I went. However when I turned back to it, I realised that it was following me.

It walked directly beside me, matching my pace. I even tried to test it by stopping a couple of times and each time the fox stopped with me and turned to resume staring straight into my eyes. It was a powerful stare, completely unwavering and nothing would distract him from meeting my gaze.

I was so confused. I wondered whether it could smell my ready meal but it was sealed and I didn’t have anything else of interest. It seemed very unusual for it to be so transfixed on me.

When we reached the end of the road, the fox carried on ahead of me. Clearly it was a coincidence, I thought. Merely a strange momentary encounter with a wild animal. However as I watched the fox cross the road in front of me, I noticed that it wasn’t just going for a walk. It had walked itself to the steps to my flat….all by itself.

I stood for a few seconds contemplating whether I should approach or not. I wondered whether it was planning to search our bins next to the steps and it was just a bizarre fluke that it had chosen my bin instead of all the others lined up down the street. I figured that if I approached it, it would be spooked and run off. But as I walked to the steps, the fox continued staring and didn’t move an inch.

This was the point where I realised that there was something special happening. I’ve seen plenty of foxes near my flat before but never one that would approach a person and stare so intently at them. I know it sounds silly but it almost felt like it was trying to talk to me.

You have to remember that as a lone woman walking home in the dark, I’m not one to linger on a dark street when I don’t have to. I am constantly on the look out for danger and know if and when anyone is around. And in Watford there nearly always someone wandering the streets. However when this fox started following me, it seemed like the world went quiet; no cars, no people. Not even noises from the pub just a few doors down. It was silent.

When I had reached the fox, he stayed next to me for a moment, maintaining the intense eye contact, before climbing the stairs and leading me to the front door where it sat patiently.

I walked up to the door, keeping a constant eye on the fox. I worried that maybe I’d mistaken the encounter and it would turn and attack me or try to run inside. Instead I put my key in the door and walked inside whilst it remained still and continued to watch me. It didn’t even flinch and it’s eyes never left me. It stayed there until I eventually decided I couldn’t spend forever having a staring competition with a fox and closed the door.

I know not everyone believes in spiritual experiences but the second I closed the door I immediately called my Mum to explain the whole thing. I was in shock and trying to rationalise the experience in my head. I began googling if foxes follow people….no, baby foxes sometimes follow dogs out of curiousity, but never just people. I googled if other people had been stalked by a fox…nothing. Mum and I sat on the phone looking for answers and we both came to the same conclusion.

That was no ordinary fox. It was some kind of message.

I started searching for meaning; why a fox? Why not a rabbit or a bird?

Foxes, as I learned that night, have enormous symbolism in many cultures around the world as they are found on every continent apart from Antarctica. They are most commonly associated with cunning, intelligence, strength, resilience and protection.

Suddenly everything started to click.

The fox was my symbol of strength and protection, warning me that tough times were approaching.

And just a few weeks later my health began to decline massively. I refuse to believe that the two were unrelated.

Since then, I’ve often seen foxes before significant events, including when I had my long awaited surgery and an important job interview, and I’ve adopted them as a kind of spirit guide.

So when it came to deciding on a name for my business it seemed like the only option.

I know some people will read this and think I’ve pulled this out of thin air or am greatly exaggerating but I cannot express how powerful and unnatural the behaviour of that animal was. I know that it was real and at the very least it felt real to me.

So the true answer is my business is called Brave Little Foxes because I hope said foxes will bring my work strength and protection. They’ve looked after me thus far and so I hope they’ll continue to support my business in the same way that all of my amazing friends and family have.

If there’s anything to take from this post, I suppose it’s to stop and pay attention to the world around you. It can be so easy to miss amazing things in our busy world when we’re constantly running from one place to the next. Stop and listen when you can.

Who knows? You might just get a brilliant story out of it in the process.

- Em x

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