Creatures in Nature
One of my favorite outdoor activities is hiking. When we hike in the mountains or designated “open space” trails in our area, we are often greeted by inhabitants of the area—from deer to snakes. On a recent hike, as we neared the trail-head, a rattlesnake startled us as it was lying across the trail.
Nature Parallels and Our Lives
Several days later, when I was driving in the car, Spirit nudged me to consider the parallel between how a snake sloughs off its skin and why it’s important to shed things in our lives periodically.
I didn’t know why snakes shed their skins, so I did a little internet knowledge gathering. Based upon my research, snakes grow new skin underneath until it is fully formed and then slough off the top layer. Several sources I found likened it to how we might remove a dirty sock. The purpose of the snake shedding its skin is to allow the reptile to grow as well as to remove parasites along with the old skin.
When I read the last part I laughed out loud. Sometimes Spirit amuses me greatly.
Like snakes, we all need to “shed our skin” to grow and improve our health by discarding parasites.
Growing and discarding parasites could be both literal and figurative references.
Shedding Opportunities
Spirit also gave me specific examples of shedding opportunities:
- Weight – by ditching unhealthy food and beverages from our diets
- Personal behaviors that no longer serve us
- Relationships that are parasitic or in some other way unhealthy
None of these are easy to shed, but only by shedding can we truly grow into our best possible selves.
We were too startled to take a picture of the rattlesnake that crossed our path, and quite frankly, that isn’t really the type of picture I’d want to see on my blog, so I’m going to instead post another picture from that beautiful hike. Enjoy!
