http://www.care2.com/greenliving/to-beaver-or-not-to-beaver.html
To Beaver or not to Beaver?
Several years ago, I visited Tierra Del Fuego, an incredibly beautiful island off the tip of Argentina, and home to the southernmost village in the world. This land of jagged snowy peaks is also the home to an enormous colony of beavers. These beavers are not native to Argentina, I was told, but were brought there from Canada in the 1940s by some ambitious entrepreneurs, who thought they would be able to make a fortune out of the beaver’s furs. Their reasoning seemed ingenious: the beaver’s only predator was the bear, and there were no bears in Argentina! With no predators, the beavers would multiply quickly, and they would reap the benefits, selling the expensive furs and making a fortune.
The plan was soon put into action, and 25 pairs of beavers arrived in Tierra Del Fuego. As the beavers went about their beavery ways, the entrepreneurs waited gleefully for the fruits of their labor. The beavers did indeed multiply, but something rather unexpected happened - the newborns did not develop thick coats like their Canadian relatives. In fact, their coats were totally useless.
The distraught entrepreneurs soon learnt that the beaver’s coat grows thick when the animal experiences fear. With no bears, there was no fear, and so their coats did not grow!
In our society, comfort is king. Anything that makes life easier and requires less effort, is prized. We have learnt to avoid confrontation and conflict, to value routine over the unknown, and security over spontaneity. Yet often it is the things that make us uncomfortable - the hard knocks, the disappointments and the losses - that challenge us most in our lives. They are the storms we wish we did not have to weather, yet they are the storms that make us strong. They give us maturity and responsibility, for what better teacher can we have than our own direct experience? When we embrace these hard knocks, we realize that everything is an opportunity for us to be more and more love, until we reach the point where nothing can ruffle our fur. Except maybe a ten foot grizzly bear!
Isha Judd is an internationally renowned spiritual teacher and author; her latest book and movie, Why Walk When You Can Fly? explain her system for self-love and the expansion of consciousness. Learn more at www.whywalkwhenyoucanfly.com.
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7 comments
add your comment »Isha Judd--The comfort part is fine but the beavers story not so. Argentina can not sell the pelts because of the international ban on fur if the animals are not traped humanly...
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Fear, hardship & hard work build character & a strong person who in turn build self confidence, pride, respect & happiness. Most people that do not experience these things & do not struggle financially are not content & seek to find something missing in their lives. They keep searching to fill a void in their lives. We need to have a purpose in life to become happy. My fur coat is very thick & keeps me cozy most days.
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I once read that "Life begins outside your comfort zone". I also believe to, that we ALL are getting to comfortable. Time to open the door and let LIFE in, we may not get another chance.
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What I want to know is, with no bears to keep the beaver population in balance, what happened to the trees?
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Very interesting Isha, I did not know that about the Beaver. Regarding fear? Well, we are living in a fear based society (US) and that is why we have embraced this constant state of war. I think we have been mislead on how to protect ourselves. Our coat of fur seems to come at the expense many others lives lost.
I too have lived in fear most of my life, and I did not know how to confront my fears, so I lost huge chunks of my life hiding from fear. I do not want to live in fear any longer, I want to flow with a higher vibration. One that is based upon letting go of the oars. Maybe my coat needed to be thinned some?
I want to ponder this more.....thanks!!
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Hi,
That was really a nice bit of information. I hope you continue to provide such nice information. Thanks for the beautiful write.
thymian
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Good point! IMO, the trick is to see the discomfort as growth (the pain is what we feel when we're breaking through that hard shell we used to be confined to).
In general, I think society is too quick to seek comfort and distraction, rather than learn, grow and improve. I'm not sure if that means I have a thick fur coat, or just enjoy the water flowing off my back... and I'll think I'll stop there with the beaver metaphor ;)
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