We have recently installed a stand-alone bird feeder in our backyard. I guess we are getting old, because Russ and I both have enjoyed watching the birds as they come and go from the feeder. My favorite is the cardinal couple who never stray too far away from one another and are in constant chirp. However, there is another little critter who has found immense pleasure in the new installation. His name is Bombshell, the squirrel.
Bombshell lives in a pine tree behind the fence in our backyard. His name is derived from how the bird seeds explode in all different directions as he leaps off the feeder, in fear of his life when we let the dogs out the back door and they haul it up the stairs trying to catch him. In fact, with all the rain we have been getting here in Georgia this summer, the dropped seeds have “gone to seed”, adding more weeds to our backyard. Thanks, Bombshell.
Whenever our back door is closed, Bombshell makes his move, hopping stealthily along the fence before gracefully yeeting himself onto the feeder. He then swings lazily back and forth on the feeder while lying on his side, gorging himself on the seed feast, his fluffy tail flipping in delight. One can discern Bombshell is quite satisfied with himself. Of course, when we and our dogs are watching the feeder and the back door is open, Bombshell is smart enough to stay away. But once we get distracted and close the door, he is back again on the feeder, sucking down birdseed and living the dream.
So, when we watch the bird feeder and pay close attention to it, it gifts us with the visitings of our feathered compadres. But when the bird feeder is neglected, it’s “Bombshell-ed”.
In regard to meditation, you may have heard the term “Monkey Mind”, but what about “Squirrel Brain”? This term refers to how our thoughts make us feel chaotic and out of control sometimes. To experience “Squirrel Brain, all one needs to do is sit in stillness for a few moments and just watch the thoughts jumping and flipping and running around like squirrels hopped up on chocolate covered espresso beans. But once we notice and acknowledge the squirrels for what they are, just thoughts, they tend to run off and hide in the pine trees of the mind. Staying present helps to tame the squirrels.
That said, it is important to be kind to those squirrels in your mind and understand they are just doing what squirrels do. Kindly and with compassion, shoo them away. It only takes me knocking on the window to get Bombshell off the feeder now; no need to sic the dogs on him. Of course, he will be back…he always comes back. That is the way with squirrels.
Off to fill the bird feeder again…
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