It was a beautiful autumn morning in New England when I decided to visit my grandmother at her grave site. On my way I was taking in the site of the various different mausoleums and head stones. I noticed an old, rustic looking cherry tree beside a very tall monument. The tree was basically bare aside from my discovery. A dead squirrel hung between the fork in two branches. It was apparent that he had gotten himself in a deadly predicament that had caused his demise. I quickly assumed that he must have mistimed a jump and got lodged I'm the branch and broke his neck. Or, perhaps he had gotten stuck while chasing prey and hung himself when he could not get out. It is impossible to know for sure what had happened, but he had certainly messed up big time.
As I sat and observed this ugly freak accident, I began to reflect. I recalled the countless episodes in my life when I had seen squirrels perform the most death-defying feats without blinking an eye. I have seen these creatures do things that would put any human acrobat to Shame. They run across telephone wires, prance across treetops, and are fast as lightning. Therefore, to see this sight completely baffled me. However, it made me realize something very important.
No matter how amazing someone or something is, we all make mistakes. Everybody can be hurt, we are all mortal. Sometimes people get big heads and they purchase million dollar cars and homes just to show boat. They think that they can hide behind their check books. Or maybe a body builder likes to show boat by wearing a tight shirt. I attribute this correlation to the squirrel who flys through the air like a tiny ninja. So many times I have admired the beauty of their tactics, and the ease in which they can stride.
But, we must always remain humble. Because the moment, that nanosecond in time when we believe we are larger than life....we get blasted back to reality. We will all die. It is the cost of life. Show boating might make you feel superior to others, but nobody will be any better than anybody else....nor any worse.
