Nuance 17

A couple of days ago, I was watching a video in Spanish about wildlife in Mexico. There was a bit about a rather hideous little reptile (no, Gentle Rader, this post is not about president Dump!), a kind of lizard that was being pursued by a bobcat. Before the cat could turn the lizard into a snack, it secreted a kind of poisonous, bloody substance from its eyes that hit kitty right in the nose. The bobcat ran away, hungry, and the little reptile could saunter on to find a rock on which to bask in the sun. Then a roadrunner was confronted by a rattlesnake that must have been thinking of having him for dinner. The roadrunner struck back, killed the snake and happily dined on him that day. Tastes like chicken! This reminds me of the Adams Family motto: "We gladly feast on those who would subdue us." And of course, the Weka, a flightless rail native to New Zealand. It is a kind of a dumpy looking drab sort of bird related to the crane but looks more like a chicken trying to look like a duck. Like many birds native to remote islands, this bird is flightless and considered vulnerable to introduced predators. The Weka has done unusually well under the circumstances, and instead of being victimized by the introduced rat population, simply added them to its diet. This bird became iconic to me for my recovery after being homeless and living with PTSD for a while. Every time I felt confronted by an insurmountable obstacle, I would remember the Weka as it feasted on a rat, or some other introduced critter, then happily ran on to its next conquest, and suddenly I felt better and strengthened and able to face the battle. And then there were the daffodils and other spring flowers yesterday, that I noticed flourishing in the winter sun, despite the unusual and bitter cold. They appeared beautiful and robust, as though they were shouting that we don't care how cold it is, we are still going to thrive and flourish! In the wake of things I have been through the last couple of months, this for me is a very timely reminder. Even if I am not a poster child for worldly success, I have still done well, considering some of the obstacles I have had to surmount. It is good to know that I still don't have to cave to onerous circumstances. The onerous circumstances are going to cave to me. It is fight or flight, and I'm going to fight, and I'm going to go on fighting. Even when there are defeats, I will review my situation, discover where I have been weak, where I have been careless or lazy, try to improve and then move on. This is how I have done well in the last twenty years. It is too early in the war to accept defeat, and until this war is over, it will still be too early. I also have advantages on my side. I have a relationship with God, and while this is not the same as having a magic wand, it is still a huge advantage, because this fills and equips me with the love, joy, and hope, and ultimately the strength and vision that will keep seeing me through. I have had to accept that I cannot fight this battle alone, for which reason I have aligned myself with a church full of good and faithful people. I am also continuing in my work, not just to pay the bills, but because this is a work of love and there is strength in loving others. I am not always going to get it right. I am going to trip and stumble and even fall sometimes. There will be humiliations. But how else are we going to learn, Gentle Reader, how else are we going to learn!