Like life, the hickory nut is tough. The squirrel is tougher. Be the squirrel
No matter how tough we think we are, if we are passive and just sit there, we will get eaten. Like the hickory nut. We have to be tougher than the hickory nut and be like the squirrel, so we can eat and not be eaten.
An off schedule post
This is an off-schedule post. That means something different or interesting is going on that warrants paying attention to. So, my friends, read on to find out more!
Introduction
I like to find events in everyday life and use them as analogies to write a story we can all relate to for the purpose of learning and improving our lives. Finding a cracked nut is pretty much a normal occurrence, but today I want to expand upon that finding by just a bit, and perhaps, while you are entertained by the story, you will ponder the lesson and take any action you determine is needed.
The hickory nut
This past spring, I found the cracked hickory on a decorative pillar on my porch you see in the picture. The hickory nut had been either in hiding or buried since last fall when it dropped from the tree. Now, as you may know, a hickory nut is pretty tough. It’s about all I could do to crack one with my hammer on concrete. My dad used to have nut trees: pecan, black walnut, English walnut, and hazelnut, but he did not have a hickory nut because people don’t typically eat them. I have a hickory nut tree in my yard, not because I planted it, but because it was there when the house was built. It’s a nice tree that provides shade and enjoyment from watching the squirrels in it. I have a lot of squirrels because there is a lot of food in the form of many oak trees in the neighborhood, along with black walnuts and pecans. If you pay attention, you will notice the squirrels enjoy the pecans the best, then the acorns, and the black walnuts and hickory nuts bring up the rear. Probably because they are tough, and I presume are hard to crack.
Imagine you are a hickory nut. As tough as a hickory nut is, they have an even tougher life. Think about it for a minute. They land where they fall and can’t do anything about it. They are passive, with no control over anything, completely dependent on nature to mature into their best selves. There are many of them, but few actually grow into beautiful trees because most are eaten. By the squirrel. I admire the toughness of hickory nuts, but I would never want to be one because, well, most of them are eaten, and only a few grow into beautiful trees.
Let’s put that into perspective and relate it to our own lives. Unlike the hickory nut, we have choices in how we live our lives. We may think we are tough, but if we are passive and unmotivated, we likely will meet the same fate as the hickory nut because there are people out there who will use us for their own personal gain, and we will lose as a result. We will end up just a shell of the person we could be if we took the necessary actions.
The squirrel (and the predators)
Then, imagine you are the squirrel. Now, if you look at that picture that I took, you will notice that the squirrel cracked the hickory nut exactly in two and ate the soft nut from inside. It takes a tough hombre to crack a hickory nut with their teeth like a squirrel. It may not be too bad to be a squirrel, you think, all you have to do is go around and look for free food and make little squirrels. Then again, we have a lot of hawks, owls, and foxes in my neighborhood who love to eat squirrels. We have an occasional coyote, but not often. Dogs will catch a few squirrels periodically. So think about it, as tough as the squirrel is, he’s no match for the predator. But the squirrel got the nut! Because he’s tougher.
Again, relating that to our own life, as humans, we are a bit higher up on the food chain than the hickory nut. We may think we are at the top of the food chain, like the hawk or fox, but in reality, we are more like the squirrel. In life, we are in constant competition. It may be to get into the best school, to make the sports team, for resources to fund a project, to get the best jobs, to buy a house before we are outbid. This is the case for most of us.
Of course, there are others who are in fact at the top of the food chain. These are people of power and wealth. Power and wealth typically go together if you think about that for a minute. These folks can consume us, if we are not careful, just like the squirrel consumes the hickory nut. And let’s not forget about cars. In reality, cars are probably the greatest threat to squirrels, given the flat ones I see on the road. As smart as we believe squirrels to be, when it comes to cars, they are just stupid. Yes indeed, one moment you are a happy squirrel, chasing a nut, and the next minute you are flat as a pancake, hit by something you did not even think was a threat. Or you recognized the threat too late and got halfway across the road and turned around, and it was that indecision that was your demise. What a way to go.
I’m not sure about you, but I like being the squirrel. It’s a good life. Yes, I must be aware of the powerful, the hawks, foxes, and coyotes (we typically call those who want to destroy us wolves) that want to consume me, and the way to do that is to not run in the same circles as those who wish to be powerful and consume others. To fly under the radar, as I like to say.
Many of you know I grew up in the Washington, DC metro area in Northern Virginia. Inside the beltway. In the swamp. Living among the powerbrokers is a difficult life, and it’s full of competition, and if one is not careful, one can be consumed. You see and hear about it every day. It could be lobbying politicians or attending a must-be-seen-at cocktail party. If one lives this life, there is little downtime, constant competition to not only excel but to survive. One moment, a person is powerful, they are “in”. The next moment, they are on the “out” and may even face legal action that can drain their resources and ruin their lives. It’s a high-risk, high-reward kind of life. If that’s how you want to live. Great if you are winning, but you are always fighting off those who compete with you and seek to consume you.
Yeah, it’s not so bad to spend the day searching for nuts to consume and playing in the trees. At least in my neighborhood, where there are more nuts than there are squirrels to eat them. But I still must watch out for the cars and the predators. With a little care, they become almost non-events, allowing me to do what I want, when I want. Yes indeed, not bad at all.
Summary
So there are a couple of simple but important lessons for us today. We can be like the hickory nut. We may have a tough outer shell that we think protects us. But if we are passive and unable to move or do what we need to do, the squirrel will eat us. We may rise to become a great tree, but the odds are against us. The squirrel, because it is always moving and looking for things to eat, is tougher than the hickory nut. Eating and making little squirrels is not a bad way to live. But, as good as the squirrel has it, unless he is constantly on the lookout, he becomes dinner for one of the predators, and that’s a bad outcome. Or he gets blindsided by a car and gets flattened. Either way is a bad way to go.
Moral of the story: Being tough is not good unless you can do something about it. Being tougher and more adaptable than those who are unable or unwilling to do something gives you an edge up, and your willingness to get up early and search for food will provide you with a pretty good, worry-free life. Unless you do not look out for the predator who is bigger and tougher than you. Then, you become his dinner. This is how the food chain works. Few at the top, many at the bottom, and most of us fall in the middle. Does this sound like our lives? Being passive and not moving is a pretty boring life. Being like the squirrel is a pretty good life, but we must always be on the lookout for someone who wants to eat us for dinner. Because they can. Or cars, which can blindside us if we are not careful.
That’s all for today!
Let’s help our friends and loved ones, shall we?
If you find the information in this post useful or enjoyable, please forward it to those you care about.
Then, simply say, “Search the internet for Afterburner Success Partners
to learn how to achieve your dreams and live your best life!”
The hickory nut is tough. The squirrel is tougher
Afterburner Success Partners
What’s in it for Me
The best thing you can do to live your best life is to be in control of it. That means having a realistic plan and executing it. Not being passive, but being in control of our lives and taking needed action.
Call to Action
What do you need to do today?
Recommended Resources
Click the links in the notes below and read them. Buy and read Achieve Your Dreams: A Complete Guide to Live Your Best Life by David Giustozzi (Note 1). Take the course; it’s a very inexpensive investment in yourself.
Up Next
Back to regular posting schedule.
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
Achieve Your Dreams: A Complete Guide to Live Your Best Life by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/3IxEFgy
Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us, by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/437OhVQ