The Squirrel and the Crow

As I was walking in the park yesterday I saw a squirrel burying something by a tree. He had already finished filling in his hole and was in the process of tamping down the earth, little paws flying, patting and grabbing bits of leaf and stick to cover over his work. All during his furious flurry of activity a large crow sat and observed at very close range. This crow was definitely in the squirrel's personal space, I'd say, with its beak low to the ground and its beady eye watching the squirrel's every move.

The squirrel seemed to pay no mind to the crow, despite its hovering. He quickly finished the job and hustled off to gather more nuts. The instant he left, the crow jammed its beak into the squirrel's tidy work to retrieve whatever prize the squirrel had been attempting to save for a rainy day.

My first thought was that the squirrel was getting seriously ripped off by this annoying bird. Here he was, trying to plan ahead, start his IRA and rainy day fund and all that, and the lazy-ass crow was going to wreck it all by gorging himself on the squirrel's stash. After thinking about it for a while, though, I decided that the squirrel and the crow both had good plans. It's easy to feel like the squirrel in my life -- work, work, work, try to invest in my future only to have my efforts undone by some looming crow. But the beauty of the scene in the park was that the squirrel was unperturbed by the crow. He looked pleased with himself, if that is possible, and didn't linger and glare at the crow's greedy behavior. And the crow, well, he was just being smart, and conserving his strength. It takes a lot of effort to get that last salt-and-vinegar potato chip out of the bag in the trash can, so why not just follow this guy around and see what he's making for dinner?

So, in the new year, I am thinking I might try to be a little bit more like both the players in that little scene: continue to work hard to lay the groundwork for my future, but also try to live in the moment and take advantage of the riches around me.