Holy Moley 2.0

       Last July I wrote a blog about my adventures with a mole who had been terrorizing my lawn for many months.  My take away from this saga was that the questions we ask ourselves determine how successful we will be.  Asking why something happens usually doesn't help.  But asking "How can I fix this?" or "What can I learn from this?" are better questions that lead to better results.
       I was able to trap the mole and my lawn had a respite from the mole occupation for a couple of months.  But then, another mole who was not aware of what happens to trespassers on my lawn showed up.  I honestly don't like trapping moles.  I try to do it only as a last resort.  This time my first step was to try an unconventional method for driving him out of my lawn.  It not only did not work but seemed to make him mad.  The activity increased so I decided to get out my traps and go to war.
      The day after I set my traps, I saw that the mole had covered them over and continued on his merry way.  I tried again a few days later and achieved the same results.   Enter plan B. I had heard of a new kind of trap that was supposed to be really effective in trapping moles. I had located it on the internet but did not want to spend more money.  With the mole war still raging and having only ineffective weaponry, I gave in and ordered the new trap.

Weapons of War

        The new trap  came by USPS (yay) a few days later.  It came on a Friday and I set it on the same day.  The next morning I woke to see that the new trap had ended the mole's plan to continue to devastate my lawn. Eight days later I noticed that the mole forces had sent another soldier into the fray.  I set my trap again and the next day marked the end of another mole.  It kind of made me want to sing the song that goes "Another one's down, and another one's down and another one bites the dust." But like I said, I don't like to trap moles and only do it for my lawn's preservation.  So, I did not sing the song. 

       Kathy told me that someone told her that moles are territorial and leaving the deceased mole in the front yard might keep other moles from moving in.  So the latest mole is buried in my front yard and I am really hoping that my yard does not turn into a mole grave yard.

       So, as I am prone to do, I pondered all this in my thoughts.  When my plan to trap the mole did not work, I found a new way to trap him and it worked.  Whether we realize it or not, we have an enemy who is constantly trying to trap us.  His main method is to get us to think things that are not true or only partially true. It is not what happens to us that gets us into trouble but how we think about what happened to us.

       Recently something happened and I began to think about how it was not fair.  The more I thought about it the worse it got.  I could feel myself spiraling into a trap of self pity.  I had to mentally slap myself and say, "Wake up buddy."  I then began to think how blessed I was and what had happened was not important and dismissed it from my thinking.  

       Maybe self pity doesn't work on you.  What about unforgiveness, or hopelessness or, or, or?  You get my point. Just like the mole buried in my yard being a sign to other moles, we can all look around and see people who got caught in traps of wrong thinking and see how much it ruined their lives.  Realizing we are not thinking right is the first step to being free of any trap we are in and need to be free of.  Maybe you can do it yourself, maybe you need to talk to someone about it.  I am just here to say beware of the traps the enemy has set because they are out there. Just a thought

       This being Thanksgiving week, I want to thank everyone who has read by blog and for all the kind comments.  I truly appreciate your encouragement.  

       Next week I want to talk about the trap of thinking you are stuck and have no way out.  Don't miss "I Got Nothing." Happy Thanksgiving!