Ate breakfast on the porch this morning looking at an azure blue sky filled with white fluffy clouds sketched by Father’s Sky’s pastels. A murder of crows was providing the sound track of the early morning coming alive. The sun was warm and bright, making me go from one swing to other to escape the heat of her rays. Came in to do some reading in mid-afternoon and fell asleep and slept through the sun setting. So sad I missed it! I know Mother Nature painted a beautiful sunset with her watercolors. It’s wonderful that she doesn’t care if we look or not, she paints her soul into those magnificent sunsets, telling the day goodnight, welcoming the night hello. I think she’s praising God with her wondrous paintings.

Today I was a squirrel watcher, squirrels were all over the neighborhood. I’d never really studied their silky fur till one visited a bird feeder, sitting on the pole’s top, stealing the sunflower seeds with his hand-like paws, close enough to the porch for me to get a good look. They are handsome little creatures, dressed in their coats of gray and white, full of red and brown and black highlights. Their eyes are liquid black, intent and intelligent. They’re bold and aggressive, hard little workers, seriously guarding their territory, furiously gathering their acorns for winter, stashing them around the neighborhood, filling their winter cupboards with 10,000 nuts, burying up to 50 an hour!

They bark at me all the time when I’m filling up the bird feeders. They chatter and scream and purr with each other. I marvel at them running down the old oak tree trunks face first, their cork screw climbs as they chase each other up and down the tall tree trunks. I read the squirrel is one of most intelligent rodents. If you watch them when a car is coming down the street, you’d think they are the most unintelligent with their indecisive thoughts of which way to run. Got to give them credit for a good work ethic, though, filling their winter cupboards with 10,000 nuts, burying up to 50 an hour!

I watch them leap off the power lines, landing on the thin branches of tall bamboo, quickly running down before the limb has time to bend and drop them. They can leap 10 times their body length, turn their ankles 180 degrees to face any direction when climbing, little aerial acrobats. I love how their tail looks like a question mark when they stand up and drink from the bird baths. And their teeth, constantly growing, takes a lot of chewing to keep them in control. Squirrels spend their whole lives in trees foraging for food, raising their babies, escaping from predators, taking shelter from the weather. Going to get them some corn on the cobs to celebrate National Squirrel Day on January 21.

“Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.” — Unknown

I realized we can really learn a few lessons from those little whimsical creatures. We need to always be curious about the world in which we live. We don’t need to lose the childlike wonder that peaks our interest and imagination, making us marvel at the world’s beauty. We need to find time to watch the birds, the squirrels, the beauty of the sunsets and sunrises. We need to look after our family and friends, helping them on their journeys through life, being mindful of collecting memories and photographs. We need to learn how to play, learn how to be productive, learn how to plan for the future, how to save our acorns for rainy days.

We also need to persevere and watch out for opportunities that come our way. Have goals and ambitions. Those little squirrels realized quickly they can hide away a cache of sunflowers seeds easily from the bird feeders. The world is a glorious habitat but life is a struggle and we need our faith in God to help us along the way, especially when we have difficult times. Don’t give up. Our faith can keep our eyes on our destination. Watch a squirrel on a squirrel proof feeder. They just don’t give up trying to access the seeds, they just keep trying.

A squirrel is just a squirrel. He doesn’t try to change his world or change himself. He goes about his daily chores with all the energy of just being a squirrel. We should be just a “squirrel.” Success and happiness come from being ourselves and living our lives based on our values and our faith. A life full of joy allows you to live a life of purpose. Be true to yourself and let God be your guide to living a fulfilling life. Be just a squirrel.

“Life is a song – sing it. Life is a game – play it. Life is a challenge – meet it. Life is a dream – realize it. Life is a sacrifice – offer it. Life is love – enjoy.” — Sal Baba