Catching Snakes

Over the past few years, I've found myself capturing snakes. My mother has a wonderful home out in the woods of western North Carolina. Critters are a given when you have a place out here. The first snake I caught was going after a nest of baby birds. I grabbed it, tossed it in a sack, and relocated it. While I'm a fan of Nature taking its course, I found my love of birds overriding the need for balance.

Some snakes caught were due to them getting in the garage or spending too much time sunning on our front walkway. All of them, except for a venomous one that I killed, were caught and relocated far from the house.

Last week, I arrived at the house to prepare for my annual Rounding retreat. I entered the house and smelled something rotten. I opened the kitchen pantry and found chewed-up food containers, rotten/exposed food, fruit flies, and mouse droppings everywhere.

Considering this house is in the woods, we've rarely (if ever) had mice in the house. I spent the next two days deep-cleaning and finding ways to get rid of the mice. In the midst of my scrubbing, I realized that my actions were a factor in this infestation.

Getting rid of the snakes allowed the mice to take over.

It was a great reminder of Nature's elegant ability to balance. We often think of snakes as unpleasant, scary, and dangerous. Not only are most of them harmless, they're also integral to the balance of any environment.

Use this story to appreciate the snaky chapters, events, and relationships in your life. There are plenty of moments that may feel destructive or unpleasant, but they're absolutely integral to maintaining balance in life and removing irrelevancy. Just as snakes keep the mice in check, we need a healthy amount of destruction in our lives in order to prevent stagnation from running rampant.