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What Raccoons Know About Motivation

Donna HighfillBlog6 commentsAugust 17, 2015

I am an optimist. I believe that we are inherently good, and that love will win. I believe that most people want to help, and that McDonald’s didn’t intend to gradually kill us with their french fries.

But I’m not particularly peaceful on a day-to-day basis. Someone told me once that I vibrate at a higher energy than the rest of the world. If that excuses my berating some innocent, slow soul in traffic, then I’m all for it.

I start the day with prayer and a sigh. I thank God for the beauty around me. I smile at the rabbit in my yard. I get in the car a calm, happy human being.

Then some asshat cuts in front of me in traffic. Or I try to answer my phone and drop it between my door and my seat. Or my Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino Light is overfilled and lava-like chocolate oozes out and stains my blouse.

These are things that send me over the edge. And that frustrates me, because while I want to be like Gandhi, I behave more like Roseanne Barr.

Every weekend my husband and I sit on our deck and watch the birds. . .

That’s right, we have become that old couple with khaki shorts and bird binoculars. In fairness, we live in the country and have a tremendous variety to observe. Red-headed woodpeckers, gold finches, hummingbirds, blue jays, cardinals, king fishers, chick-a-dee’s (asleep yet?) swarm our backyard and soothe my tired soul.

Note that my soul is not tired from helping those in dire situations. It is not tired from dealing with illness. My soul is tired because I woke up and realized we were out of bacon. And my coffee is back in the house and I’m already on the deck.

That kind of pathetic tired.

So, I focus on the birds . . .

In the midst of their wonderful songs and child-like chases through the trees, a large racoon ambles into the yard. We’ve seen her with her two cubs, so I let her eat as much bird food as she wants. Today, she is alone, which means she’s snuck out for a snack the way I used to when my kids were little.

Every Saturday morning I would leave my family and go to the Pancake House in Roanoke, Virginia. I would order pancakes with a side of bacon and a coke. When the pancakes arrived on the green cafeteria plate, I would pour excessive syrup all over my breakfast and pull out a romance novel. The waitress knew that she was not to speak to me.

It was decadent.

So, I stand slowly to see the mama racoon. She looks directly at me, with a message that would go something like “I have finally gotten away from my kids. If you bother me, I will kill you.” I wave at her and sit back down. She resumes eating.

Perhaps being motivated isn’t the same as not being irritated .. . 

As I view the fluttering wings of my beautiful bird friends, I get quiet. I realize that just because I’m easily irritated doesn’t mean that I’m unmotivated. Just because I’ve been known to throw a cucumber across the kitchen because it slipped into the trash as I peeled it doesn’t mean I’m not an optimist.

I’m just vibrating at a really high level.

I sit quietly on my deck and watch two mourning doves sitting beside a bluejay who is sitting near the raccoon. I take in the peace of the moment, and decide that nature understands the importance of meditative silence.

Then the doves start fighting and the bluejay pecks at the raccoon.

And so it goes.

 

Tags: behavior change, Change Stories, donna highfill, humor, motivation

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6 comments. Leave new

Kathleen
August 17, 2015 5:53 pm

Donna- thanks for the smile this morning! I now understand me, “I just vibrate at a high level” than most, so no need for therapy! I’ve come to understand and appreciate the focus on what is important to me and the disregard for the bullshit.

Reply
Donna Highfill
August 17, 2015 9:21 pm

It’s awesome when a flaw becomes an energetic advantage, isn’t it Kathleen? 🙂 I believe “Disregard the Bullshit” should be a t-shirt, by the way.

Reply
Laurel Regan
August 18, 2015 2:24 pm

Your words brought a smile to my face this morning – I like your style! Thank you for a dose of wry inspiration. 🙂

Reply
Donna Highfill
August 18, 2015 2:35 pm

Laurel, thank you for your comment. My social media guy has been trying to define me for years. Perhaps “wry inspiration” is it. 🙂

Reply
melissa noakes
August 21, 2015 5:28 pm

Hi Donna, it’s uncanny how often your blog parallels my recent experiences and mental ramblings. I don’t even PRETEND to vibrate at the same level as you:), but one of my daily challenges is attempting to NOT to change from calm centeredness to crazed lunatic during my 70 minute morning commute! Your blog helps more than you know:-0)

Reply
Donna Highfill
August 21, 2015 5:44 pm

Melissa: I think God used the same mold to make both of us :). I used to have a 60 minute morning commute through the country and would inevitably end up behind a combine. I get it. Thanks for your comments – they always encourage me to keep writing.

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