By Kim Spangler
You all know by now how my very small mind thinks. Here is more proof of what many have thought was perhaps a mental health component in my storytelling ventures: my Altoids tin...when I opened my peppermints yesterday I was greeted by a small sentence included in the paper wrapping.
" Altoids were once used to ease everything from stomach ailments to raven attacks".
This trivia led me to the Altoid website (yes, I DO have a life!).
It seems that altoidswere really used for dyspepsia. However, I could find no evidence of their value when one is attacked by crows! Consider the visual: I am sitting on my upper deck communing with nature when the Spangler version of Hitchcock'sThe Birds is enacted by crows swooping down to do bodily harm to my ...whatevers.
Protecting said 'whatevers' involve hand- to- beak combat involving throwing my altoids at each offending bird.
The moral to the story: use appropriate strategies when in "battle"-whether it's ravens or a specific "crow" in your life...thinking 2 steps ahead and choosing the response, not the reaction, can result in a win-win for all. We teach our clients this principle and we often need to refresh our skills, ,as well. I choose not to react, but to respond with a behavior which I have calmly practiced before the issue becomes a battle. How 'bout you?
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