Local Deer Population Teach Me a Lesson in Forgiveness
Forgiveness is not easy but it can be mastered
Imagine seeing much of your hard work in cultivating your home garden decimated by the local deer population. Dealing with the distress, anger, and negative emotions that bubble to the surface is the subject of this article.
Several months ago, my landlady hired a local handyman to string up wire along the perimeter of the property to try to prevent deer from entering. That strategy hasn't worked.
I recently came face-to-face with two deer who had been checking out what edibles were available to eat in the front and back yard. I looked to my right and noticed that a potted plant that my landlady had placed on a metal table had been stripped of several leaves and branches.
The moment the deer saw me, they used their natural jumping abilities to hop over the wooden fence to escape along the street in front of my home.
A favorite target of the deer are strawberry leaves and branches (for some reason, they leave the fruit alone). As I went to investigate what damage they had inflicted in the back yard, I confirmed that they took bites off of the leaves and branches of two of my potted strawberry plants that I had placed on the concrete deck.
I also noticed that they left their telltale footprints in the raised bed garden.
This was not my first encounter with the local deer. Several months ago, they had hopped onto the property and proceeded to destroy my bush bean seedling and take bites off my broccoli and tomato starters. I responded by replanting the roots and stems of my broccoli and tomatoes and moving their pots on top of tables that were much more inaccessible to the deer. To my relief, both the broccoli and tomato plants survived and produced edible produce.
A friend advised me that I could deter deer by spreading urine around the garden. While I have not followed up on this advice, I may end up doing so.
Forgiveness does not equate to condoning harm or wrongdoing inflicted by others. At the same time, sweeping the distressful matter under the rug and pretending that it didn't affect you physically and/or emotionally is not what I am advocating, either.
I recognize that the deer were only looking for food when they climbed over the fence and merely engaged in behavior consistent with their natural instincts. They are not bad or evil animals. Although I felt that the deer had violated my home garden space, I have since released all feelings of anger and ill-will toward them.
From a higher perspective, this particular episode motivated me to take further steps to forgive certain people in my life (both past and present) for the wrongs that they bestowed upon me, and to forgive myself for my own transgressions. In this regard, I have begun to study and implement the principles outlined in Robert Enright's October 2015 article entitled, "Eight Keys to Forgiveness," published by Greater Good Magazine.