Be the Buffalo

Several years ago, a mentor shared a story with me that I've never forgotten.

In the story, buffalo and cows live on the same stretch of land.

When a storm approaches, the cows run away from it.

The buffalo run toward it.

Because the buffalo move directly into the storm, they spend less time in it.

The cows keep trying to outrun it.

The storm follows.

I've thought about that story many times over the years.

Not because of weather.

Because of life.

Whenever something difficult appears, there's an instinct to move away from it.

To distract.

To delay.

To convince ourselves we'll deal with it later.

Sometimes that's a hard conversation.

Sometimes it's grief.

Sometimes it's fear.

Sometimes it's simply telling the truth.

The story stayed with me because it gave me a simple image to return to.

Be the buffalo.

Not because storms are pleasant.

Not because running toward difficulty is easy.

But because some things become harder the longer we spend trying to outrun them.