Squirrel Zen

Have you ever noticed that we often make up scenarios about people, play them out in our heads, and assign those characteristics to others? We have mental conversations with others and imagine what they would have said if we had said… Unfortunately, this often gives us an excuse to be unkind and even cruel.

Here’s a perfect example. The Navy Seals, which are an elite force but are also taught to kill, are trained to think of the enemy as the “counter force.” Not people, but an impersonal thing. I’ve heard that once a Navy Seal begins to see the enemy as a person with parents, children, and wives, they can no longer kill.

The truth is, the person on the other side of the scope is a person with family, children, a life. The image of them as an impersonal “counter force” is no part of reality; it is a convenient excuse we’ve come up with to justify cruelty.

What has all this to do with squirrels? I see a similarity. How often do we think the squirrels are “out to get us” or “intentionally raiding our bird feeders just to annoy us.” This often justifies taking cruel measures such as spraying our fence posts with pepper to keep them out.

I like to put myself in the paws of the squirrels. They have no personal grudge against backyard birders. They are simply animals trying to survive. They must eat to live, and if you think about how long a winter is with no food readily available, it isn’t surprising that they hoard everything they can find and try to fatten up before then. I’m often surprised that wild animals survive winters at all.

So the next time you’re tempted to be cruel or unkind to another living thing, just stop for a minute to ask yourself if you’re putting unreal characteristics on that critter to justify your actions. Try instead to put yourself into the paws, flippers, claws, or gills of your fellow being and see if you’re inclined to act the same way.

I highly recommend a very cool book for anyone who wants to see this kind of thinking in action. It’s called Kinship with all Life by J. Allen Boone.