Baby giraffes do not have the easiest transition
to life outside the womb. For starters, the giraffe gives birth standing up, so
the baby pretty much just falls out of the sky at birth. How is that for a rude
awakening?!?
But it does not get any easier after that. As the
calf struggles to his feet, the mother will nudge the calf with her nose,
knocking him back to the ground. Again, the calf will fight to get his gangly
legs underneath him, only to be pushed over again by mom. If the calf does
manage to stand up, the mother may even kick his feet out from under him,
sending him back to the hard African soil.
Are giraffe moms gunning for the prestigious,
“Worst Mothers of the African Savannah” trophy? Why would they exhibit such
cruel behavior?
What appears to be harsh treatment may actually
be the key to survival for the young calf. Growing up on the African continent
not only exposes the young calf to harsh environmental pressures, but there is
a constant threat from predators as well. The mother knows the calf needs to
adapt quickly to survive. Those long skinny legs will develop faster by getting
up over and over again than by remaining standing.
Furthermore, the mother knows she cannot prevent
the helpless calf from tripping or falling over. That is inevitable. But what
she can do is teach the calf to rise quickly after being knocked down. A
giraffe is most vulnerable on the ground, where vital organs and its spine is
most susceptible to a lion’s or hyena’s jaws. From birth, she trains the calf
to get back on his feet as quickly as possible.
It might be easy to draw some parenting parallels
from this illustration – and those might be valuable – but it applies directly
to us as adults as well. Our lives are lived with such a focus on the avoidance
of being knocked down that we become bewildered and confused when we find
ourselves in the dirt. We may prepare against being knocked down, but do we
practice getting back up?
We will all be knocked down in life. That is a
given for each of us regardless of preparation and prevention. The previous
year was a great example of that. Many strong and robust individuals were
knocked flat on their backs. Those who flourished were the ones who got back to
their feet quickly.
Maybe we should not be so concerned about
avoiding the knockdowns, and more focused on rising quickly to our feet.
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