TEDDY THE
SQUIRREL AND THE OAK TREE©
By Linda Lee
Greene, January 5, 2019
Teddy the Squirrel, whom I
introduced to you in a blog posting over the Thanksgiving holiday, is mad at
me. If you wish to read my origination story about Teddy the Squirrel, click
here> (https://ingoodcompanyohio.blogspot.com/2018/11/an-air-of-gratitude-thanksgiving-2018.html?spref=tw).
I swear that Teddy actually spat at me from his perch on the postern of my gate
when I ventured out this morning to run my errands. It is pretty easy to figure
out that the source of his ire is that I was the instigator of the slaughter of
his favorite tree, which I believed at the time to be a menace to the roof and
windows of my condo. I have since begun to question the wisdom of my actions. For
the backstory of the saga of my tree, clink this link> (https://ingoodcompanyohio.blogspot.com/2019/01/my-conundrum-over-tree-by-linda-lee.html?spref=tw)
My tree was an
oak, by the way. I have determined its genus based on the shape of a few remaining
brown leaves on the ground. I am ashamed to admit that my ill feelings toward
it prevented me from going as far as even acknowledging its identity before now.
And is it any wonder that Teddy is mad at me? Now he will have to go shopping
for his acorns far beyond his neighborhood, thanks to me. I am sure he yearns
to move to a more convenient locality, and to get away from me, but he is an
old and nearly feeble fellow, and moving might be harder on him than he could
withstand.
One of my “go to”
books when life throws me a major curve and I need help getting back on track
is psychoanalyst and author Judith Viorst’s “NECESSARY LOSSES, The Loves,
Illusions, Dependencies, and Impossible Expectations That All of Us Have to
Give Up in Order to Grow.” At the time she wrote the book, the bedroom she and
her husband shared sat within the top floor of their multi-storied house. A
wide span of windows in the room overlooked a small woodland. She enjoyed lying
in bed and watching the squirrels beyond her windows scamper about in the
canopy of trees. Her theme of the squirrels/trees reference in the book was to
point out to her readers that unlike many human beings, squirrels have no illusions
about who they are and what is right for themselves. At least in her and my
corner of the world, squirrels are creatures suited to living in trees and
earning their living by harvesting the bounty of those trees. Take them out of
that environment and their form of work, and they would wither and die.
Spiritual
teacher Eckhart Tolle in his book “STILLNESS SPEAKS” tells us that the essence
of our Being is to be found in stillness and peace rather than in squirrel-like
industry. I have scoured my neighborhood and have identified other oak trees in
which Teddy might continue to express his squirrel nature. My wish is that he is
up to finding them, for only then will my sense of peace be restored.
***
To date, Linda Lee Greene has
authored five novels: “Jesus Gandhi Oma Mae Adams” (http://amzn.to/VazHFG);
“Guardians and Other Angels” (http://goo.gl/imUwKO);
“Rooster Tale” (http://goo.gl/vNq32g);
and “Cradle of the Serpent” (http://amzn.to/VazHFG),
which was designated as a finalist in the 2018 American Fiction Awards
Competition. It was also awarded a 5 Star Review by Readers’ Favorites.
Scheduled for release in early 2019, her latest novel titled “A Chance at the
Moon” will be available in soft cover and eBook at Amazon.com. An
extensive exhibition of Greene’s artwork can be viewed at www.gallery-llgreene.com.
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