Squirrels get a bad wrap. They are a joke when we get too frantic. But there’s a lot we can learn from these goofy little animals.
What often seems chaotic is really just hyper awareness. Squirrels know what’s going on around them, and pay special attention to anything and everything that affects them. We don’t need to go to that same extreme, since we (hopefully) have fewer predators around us at any given time. But often we get stuck in ruts, stuck in autopilot, stuck with our noses to the grindstone. It is good to look up and pay attention to our surroundings now and then.
Squirrels plan for the future. They know good times won’t last forever and stash nuts, acorns, and other food for the future. In doing so they live in symbiosis with the trees that rely on the squirrels stashing a bit more than they’ll need. Those leftovers become future trees that in turn supply future squirrels with food and shelter.
Squirrels are skeptical. Maybe a wee bit too much! They often create decoy stashes to fool other squirrels and birds. Maybe we don’t need to go to that extreme, but we could all benefit from asking ourselves “is this really true” every now and then. Especially when something sounds too good to be true.
Most importantly squirrels sploot. Splooting is when squirrels (and other animals) take a rapid extreme break. They go from running full speed to sprawling out on a tree branch or the ground and relaxing every bit of their bodies. Usually they do this when overheated. Squirrels are extra dramatic at splooting because of their extreme flexibility. Sometimes us silly humans should take a break when emotionally overheated and relax quietly for a few minutes instead of spiraling downward.
When was the last time you did a full sploot? When was the last time you *should* have splooted?
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