Insight: The viper’s tail

By Lorraine Glowczak

For someone who is profoundly fearful of snakes, I am also incredibly fascinated by them and know more about the spine-chilling serpents than I’d prefer.

Recently, I learned that there are some snakes, such as vipers and adders, who use a technique that entices their prey, drawing them near for a quick catch. I watched a video that captured a viper in action who had changed the appearance of his tail into a plump spider walking along a rock. I don’t know if it was a sparrow, swallow, black bird or crow that dove down to eat her spider look-a-like lunch, but she was in for a surprise to discover that it was she who was the tasty snack.

Credit: reptiles4all/shutterstock

This clever skill used by vipers and adders is called caudal luring. And - if we are not careful…..life’s version of caudal luring can play a role in our own lives, causing us to take a detour on our personal goals, and thus, preventing us from diving fully into living our dreams.

If we are lucky – we may only get side-tracked for just a bit. This is not so bad because it creates an opportunity to learn from the experience and continue forward with more awareness. For the most part, this is real life and it’s okay to fumble. I think they call it humanhood.

However, if we are not paying attention, the lure of life’s many requests – whether they be family, work and community demands or paying our monthly bills – may consume (or eat) us, and thus stop us in our tracks, causing us to lose our way indefinitely.

I’ll use myself as an example. I have three goals, when combined, feel like one dream destination. They are:

1)     Working together with our team of writers, layout editor, ad manager, staff and publisher, I am determined to create this small-town news source, The Windham Eagle, as an award-winning Maine newspaper that is locally owned with no ties to a publishing conglomerate. I know – it is a lofty goal. But before you might scoff, I invite you to talk to my family and friends who have witnessed my journey thus far.

2)     To be an author who is published in mainstream media. Afterall, one would presume that it would add a bit of credibility in order to obtain goal number one.

3)     Travel, travel and travel. And….more travel. Besides offering stress reduction, lowering the risk of depression and boosting happiness, studies have indicated that travel increases creativity. And thus – an important contribution to goals two and three.

At the beginning of the year, I was very clear about these three goals. As we enter into the last week of April, the first quarter of 2019, I have been forced to re-evaluate my journey. In just four short months, I have had more than one close call with that viper’s tail.

I share this with you because I want to help you live your dreams and goals fully, warning you that there are objects out there that may appear as stepping stones toward your destination – but, in fact, may capture and devour you. I also share this story as a form of accountability on my own part.

So, the next time we run into each other, feel free to ask, “Any close calls with the viper’s tail, lately?”