I was laying on the floor of my family room, stretching out and doing some yoga. This is my view so you can’t blame a girl if she wants to hang out on her back for a bit. And that’s when I noticed it. Again. Because in case you didn’t know, I love to watch squirrels. I saw this little guy who looked to be on a kamikaze mission, racing along a branch fifty feet above the ground and jumping from limb to limb without even giving it a second thought.
If I were in his little squirrel brain I would imagine him saying, “Wee-hoo! Gotta get over to my buddy’s tree! No time to waste. It’s a great day!”
But in my acrophobic human brain as I watch, it sounds more like, “Oh geez! I can’t watch! How does he do that? He’s not even being careful! He’s not taking it time or thinking about where he’s going! He’ll never survive if he falls! Did he mutter a little prayer before he leaped?”
If it were me making that big leap I probably would have overthought it until the cows came home…or in this case, the squirrels. And that got me thinking. Sure, there are times in life when we are faced with moments that require us to move forward with caution as we weigh options, and perhaps even do some research in order to arrive at the best outcome. But have we lost touch with our own inner compass? Are we not trusting ourselves that we have everything we need inside us to proceed successfully?
Here’s the thing. That squirrel doesn’t doubt itself. It knows it has the skills to jump from limb to limb because it is built to do that. Squirrels have incredibly strong hind legs that propel them forward so they know they are powerful enough to make the leap. Their “wrists/ankles,” are double-jointed and hyper-extendable, so this means they can reverse paw directions and climb with ease. They are also so darn flexible they can revolve in midair. They are the Simone Biles of the furry mammal world. Heck, they can even thrust off a vertical wall to make a leap that would have every single American Ninja Warrior salivating. These little suckers are also quite adaptive. Based on the limb they are on, they can adjust their leaps according to the flexibility of the branch and how far the next limb is, and if they calculate wrong they can modify in mid-air. And finally, they have those sharp claws that let them dig in and grab on to the branches and trunks when they land at their desired location. Yep, they are meant to be leaping through the air.
It’s also true that squirrel mammas take their squirrel babies out to show them the way, and with some whoopsies and some wahoos, over time they hone their skills to be the perfect little leapers that they are.
But what about us humans, and more importantly, how about you? Do you trust the fact that all your mistakes and accomplishments over the years have sharpened your skills and made you into a natural discerner? Do you realize that you are strong enough to move forward and that you have power to move through your life, sometimes with ease? Are you confident enough to recognize that if perhaps you have a misstep, you can simply adjust along the way based on your needs, and be flexible enough to meet the moment? And do you dig in when you know what you need as you move forward, or do you stay in one place with analysis paralysis, balking at all the ways things could go wrong if you forge ahead?
We need to remember that just like our little furry friends, we are built to move forward with capability and confidence. Like Tina Fey says, “You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.”
So maybe we need to take a leaf out of the squirrels’ tree, and navigate our lives with confidence and ease. Now I wouldn’t recommend following one of these cuties as it crosses the street, but by all means, go ahead and make that leap!
Chaos to Calm 