Anyway, today when I was walking on campus, I came across one squirrel in particular who was on the ground, holding a prized acorn in both hands and picking off the top of it with his teeth. When it saw me approaching on the nearby sidewalk, he shot me a sideways glance, bit down hard on the nut and scurried away to climb up to safety. (ICE AGE, anyone?)
'Huh', I scoffed, disgusted. I was thinking, 'Like I'd want your dumb nut anyway. I could buy a whole bag of nuts at the grocery store in 2 seconds. It would take you months and months to gather what I could have instantly.'
(yes, I know, I'm weird. I'm talking to a squirrel...to myself. read on if you believe I'll make a point eventually.)
Almost immediately after that thought, another one popped into my head:
There is something immensely gratifying about something that you EARN, something you WORK FOR, something you SAVE, something that takes SACRIFICE, and TIME. Those are the things that are most intrinsically rewarding, give the most sense of self, become imprinted in our memories, are treasured forever.
Instant gratification is such a cheap, fake replacement. The happiness is fleeting, so quickly forgotten, so easily taken for granted. It is nothing compared to the true joy we can attain by turning around after a long, hard uphill push.....and seeing what we've accomplished.
Thinking about our society- obsessed with having everything, NOW....I imagined myself spending money at the store for a giant bag of nuts and inhaling half the bag only to throw the rest away... and contrasted it with the image of a little squirrel, admiring his hard-earned winter's supply...a small handful of precious acorns in the crook of a tree.
And I realized...I'm collecting acorns. Working towards something worth it. It is good.
And I know that I've known this all along. Sometimes it just takes a squirrel to hand it back to me.
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