A Sign of Happiness

I saw a sign in a flea market this week that showed a chicken crossing the road and the caption read, 'I wish I could just cross the road without everyone questioning my motives.' This is so true. Not only do we question motives, but we judge the chicken according to results. Why did he cross there instead of here? Why didn't he cross quicker? Why did he cross lugging all that baggage? Did he seek advice on where to cross? Is he a conformist (crossing where many chickens cross), or is he an adventurer / troublemaker? Where did his crossing get him? If his crossing only got him to the other side, why did he cross at all? It seems that chickens by nature, are very poor decision makers; though some are also very lucky; and others are not so lucky.

It would be controversial to suggest that there is no such thing as a good decision or a bad decision; or that it is all a matter of (good or bad) luck. but in a sense, that is exactly how it is. Most chickens will make a decision based on how they believe it will impact their well-being, but each chicken prioritizes differently. For some the most important factor may be financial well-being, meaning they may aggressively compete for and/or hoard their chicken feed which in turn may lead to excessive stress and a little chicken heart attack (or other stress-related disorder) impacting physical well-being; (...the sky is falling! The sky is falling!). Be it financial, physical, social, mental, societal, familial, ecological, philosophical, political, technological, (I could go on and on...), emotional, or spiritual well-being, focusing on any one over any other(s) will impact all others and may seriously compromise one or more; and who is to say in the course of a chicken's Life what will become important.

Conclusion: Making a decision is a chicken crap shoot - especially so because most chickens don't realize the likelihood that their ultimate destiny, (in fact, the best they can hope for), is to serve as a source of nourishment; or a midnight snack.

A few months back I found a $50 bill nestled in a pile of leaves at the side of a public street. Did I make a good decision to cross the road and come upon that specific pile of compost? Or was it just luck? Was it a good decision to get on my hands and knees and paw through the wet, smelly leaves in the hope of discovering more chicken feed? I'm sure passersby probably did not think so, but then if they knew my reasons, they may have become competition. What if I told you that it was my dog who decided at that moment to lead me across the road? To this day I am still asking, why did my dog cross the road? Was it only because that particular pile looked to be an attractive urination destination and he was intent on the well-being of his bladder? Or did he truly know something I did not? I can tell you that his pee has not paid since.

As I write this, it is 3am Friday morning and I am walking down the street on my way to work. A few minutes ago I caught movement from the corner of my eye and looked to see a fat opossum crossing the road toward me. He hopped up on the sidewalk about 10 feet in front of me and we journeyed companionably together for another 50 yards or so before he stopped, turned and gave me a knowing glance, (or was it a warning glance?), and waddled off into the woods on my right.

As I was writing that last sentence I looked ahead and saw another animal sitting on my side of the road. I drew near and saw that it was a black and white cat. He leisurely stood, stretched, and crossed to the other side of the road utilizing the marked crosswalk there for that purpose.

Three years ago I wrote about a video game in which a frog tries to cross a road, dodging heavy highway traffic. After re-reading that post, and considering the frog, my dog, the chicken, the cat, and the fat opossum, perhaps the message is that our ultimate well-being is not the same, (nor is it dependent upon), our immediate well-being; or put another way, one's humanity will focus on immediate well-being and prioritize accordingly, while one's essence will intuitively encourage consideration for one's transcendental well-being. My humanity is impossible to ignore, and my essence is at times difficult to find and always difficult to understand; but I believe that if I continue to listen closely, I will continue to learn and grow both personally and communally.

And I will continue to look both ways before I cross the road...

...or not.

This entry was posted in Philosophy. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *