Know the Snake…
This year’s lunar new year celebrates the Year of the Snake as per the Chinese zodiac. It is an interesting symbol – many don’t like snakes but personally I have come to understand their existence and need.
About 2 months ago, I noticed a little Battichcha bird building a nest on my grape vine. I was very pleased – I like the idea of building a home and new life. The baby birds were born about a month ago and I could hear them happily chirping while the mother fed them. One day when I came home, there was no sound. The nest looked like something had opened it’s mouth wider than before. I was a bit dismayed – I thought perhaps another bird or some predator had made its way to it. I wondered if the resident gerandiya (rat snake) who I had not seen in a while had made an appearance. I let it pass and hoped the birds had escaped.
This afternoon, I noticed a toppled pot in my garden. I hastily checked my CCTV and lo and behold – I saw the gerandiya slithering and toppling the pot in its haste. This made me realise – the snake was back. I could not see where it had gone off too. But as I was leaving the house, I saw a thick white underbelly and grey top slithering from my neighbour’s wall onto my grape vine. He meandered his way through the vines and I realised – this was the one who laid siege to the poor nest.
Part of me was mad – but as I related to my father later on – this is the law of the jungle. Survival of the fittest. He said, I don’t want the law of the jungle in my house. I understood. Had any snake tried to get to me, I would ensure it did not survive. But in this instance, I had no need per se to get rid of it. After all, rat snakes eat rats and that is a far greater service than me wanting the birds to nest.
And so, I realised, that one has necessity for snakes and yes, they can destroy as much as they can protect and guard. Yet if one is aware, it can be utilised in a useful manner without letting it harm you.