This morning on my prayer drive, a squirrel darted out in the road in front of me. Most of the time these guys begin this indecisive darting back and forth in front of the car. They are torn between going back from where they came and committing to crossing the street. Usually, they get away at the last second and survive. Other times, not so much.
This one today was different. Instead of darting back and forth he decided he would outrun the car. As he jumped in front of me, upon realizing I was coming up on him, he made a ninety degree right turn and was running down the lane in front of me. It was pretty fun and he was quite fast. I was tempted to engage him in the race but figured a few hundred horsepower wasn’t fair against one squirrel power.
The squirrels suffer from two problems that I see in people.
The first is noticed in the squirrels that dart back and forth. Indecisiveness causes death in squirrels and humans. The inability to make a decision under pressure will get you run over. The squirrel feels the pressure of the car bearing down on them and begin to doubt their choice. The best course of action is to pick up the pace and carry on. Turning around wastes precious time. Waffling gets you flattened.
Today’s squirrel made the worst decision of all. Trying to outrun the steamroller. Many times we do this very thing. We panic when we find ourselves in trouble and make a stupid decision. One that costs us everything.
How do we avoid getting run down? Plan your evasion before the emergency comes. Know what you’re going to do before you are looking at headlights.
Joel Stiff's Adventure 