squirrel

“Every once in a while even a blind squirrel finds an acorn in the forest.” – my dad

But in this case when the squirrel (who was blinded by his parents’ teaching, feeding him a particular food his whole life, never allowing him to search on the ground for his own food without them) found the seemingly small acorn (but had more to offer than they could ever imagine and right under their way-up-the-tree nest), it just so happens that the acorn had a long root system attached to it that just kept coming when the young squirrel pulled it up from the ground.

The squirrel and the squirrel’s parents and the squirrel’s parent’s parents had lived in the same tree for many years, never venturing down to see the ground. Their home and way of life was simply the way it was. The parents had never questioned venturing to the ground and taking the first acorn, though this was the case with the youngest squirrel – adventure was at the center of the squirrel’s personality even though this particular adventure was merely overlooked and not sought-out. He was made to be boisterous and shake up life in the tree. He never thought it was wrong to test out the waters and see about the acorn that lay at the foot of his home.

But one day he did. And it changed his whole perspective.

Unbenounced to his parents early one morning, the little squirrel ventured out to find his own food. Stopping at the petite particular acorn sitting next to his tree’s root, he tugged on it. It didn’t budge. So he pulled slightly harder. Still no movement. So he pulled with all his might and he fell on his butt. But – he did have an acorn in his hand. Surprised at himself that he had grasped his own food, the squirrel hopped up and held up the acorn. He stopped in mid-motion as the acorn was attached to a long stem. He pulled and the stem kept coming. He pulled for several minutes.

Then he got down on his knees and began to dig. He plunged his little claws into the ground and sent dirt through his legs, heaping into a large pile behind him. He stopped a couple of inches down to notice several off-shoots of the root to the right and to the left. He examined them, pulled them out a little bit, then kept digging.

By midday, the squirrel was tired. His parents yelled to his from their perch in the tree. “What are you doing? You’ve made a mess – just put that back!” They had dug a little bit years ago, but chose instead to find other sources of food, rather than follow this unorthodox acorn trail.

A couple of younger squirrels began to catch on to what the petite squirrel was up to. They too began to dig; some at the original spot and some at others where the intense root system had diverged. The squirrel sat back and smiled as the other squirrels helped him dig. He enjoyed their company. They sat down for dinner at the foot of the tree. Next to all the dirt and dirty from their day’s toil, they all came together and communed for dinner. “This acorn is delicious!” said one worker. The others nodded in agreement.

They kept up the work the next day, ever seeking to find the end of the trail. The elder squirrels continued to mock and criticize from their perches, never coming down to inquire or even bring some water. But - the squirrels found comfort in being together – thirsting for the same goal. They wanted to know where the trail would lead, but never doubted that each other’s motivation. Each knew why he was there: if they gave up the quest...