Today I was a buffalo.
My friend Jeff told me about this phenomenon that takes place in the Colorado Rockies. When a herd of cows sense a storm coming down over the Rocky Mountains from the west, they turn and run east to try to outrun the storm. The problem is that cows aren’t really all that fast. What ends up happening is that, eventually, the storm catches up with the herd. While the cows try to outrun the storm, they inadvertently run along WITH the storm.
Buffalo do the exact opposite. When they sense a storm coming, they actually turn toward it. And when the storm finally rolls over the ridge from the west, they face it and charge head on. Unlike the cows, who maximize their pain & discomfort trying to avoid the storm, the buffalo accept what IS and they face it, ultimately minimizing their frustration and pain.
Today was tough, but I chose to be a buffalo. I had hard conversations all day. I had to share some challenging perspectives during my meetings with clients, I had to help my daughter prepare to navigate some hard conversations of her own, and I had to finally sit down and confront some things that I couldn’t avoid any longer. Speaking the truth in love is going to have to count as kindness today, because there was a lot of that today.
The reality is that the storm is the same either way. Our reaction to the storm doesn’t change its existence, or its severity, or its power. But it does change our *experience* in the storm. When conflict or heartache is coming, you can be a cow or a buffalo. Neither choice is easy, neither one feels good, and neither one makes the storm move any faster. But when we choose to turn and face it, confronting it head on, our experience with the storms changes drastically.
So today, I was a buffalo. #day14 of #adamsacts was that I turned directly toward the tension and I walked into it. I spoke the truth, and I tried really hard to do it with as much gentleness and love as I possibly could. Storms never feel good. Conflict, challenges, correction… none of those things feel comfortable. But, when hard conversations are necessary, it’s an act of kindness to yourself and the other party to be brave life a buffalo.
