Tahoe Bear Break-in--Brownies Nabbed!

Tuesday was quite an auspicious day. I had a very insightful session in the afternoon with a trauma survivor which got me pondering the body's innate ability to beautifully handle extreme stress and sensory overload (don't worry, I'll get to the main headline in a sec:). After the day's work, I decided to take off on a run. As I was sprinting through the woods (I'm getting closer ...), I realized that for me a way of dealing with overload in my body is to put on my running shoes and head out the door. Every since I was old enough to run, I would lace up my shoes and take off. When my energy was spent, I would (and still do) stop, lie down on the ground and simply breathe. The stillness flooding my body after flight is, how can I say it--refuge.

Flight, fight or freeze are typical reactions to sensory overload, and in spite of the pathological way stress reactions are often viewed, they are purposeful, adaptive and in extreme situations, keep one alive--like in the event a bear breaks into your house. When I got home from my run, I kissed my kitty, Yogini, chillin' on the couch and jumped in the shower. After scrubbing up, I walked down the hall and noticed the screen window in the kitchen torn and flapping in the breeze! Heart pounding, my nervous system shot into overdrive--so much for the run. Funny, how in Tahoe one's first thought when seeing such a thing isn't "who" broke in but "what" broke in. The mess in the kitchen told the story--brownie pan scraped clean but still on the counter, lid placed beside it, and a bag of instant potatoes lying on the floor with the cupboard drawer having been neatly closed. As I walked over to the window to assess damage, I heard a sloppy scuffling sound out on the deck--there lay a big cinnamon Black Bear, on her belly, enjoying a bag of brown sugar!

"Crap!" I said aloud, startling the bear into flight as she lumbered off the deck and into the nearby woods. Now, a funny thing happened--I began spontaneously giving thanks: Yogini was safe (she had bolted under the bed in the back room), other than the screen and cleaning out the sweets, damage was minimum, the bear had stayed confined to the kitchen, she hadn't disturbed an open flame boiling a pot of hot water on the stove, the list went on and on. It can always get worse. With all the thanksgiving, my breathing and heart rate calmed down and I began seeing the blessings.

In addition to flight, fight, or freeze, there's another response--flow. I picked up my running shoes left by the front door and put them in the closet.