Since we got our ducks this year, we’ve enjoyed watching them and their antics. I’ve also been thinking about some of the idioms in our language involving ducks, in conjunction with what I’ve observed, and I have some thoughts in that regard.
Let’s start out with “like water off a duck’s back.” When you see them swimming and splashing around, it is immediately apparent why this saying exists – the water really does just bead up and roll off of them. And it has been something I’ve thought pretty intently about in terms of my own attitude. Life is too busy and too short to pick stupid battles. If you jump into a pond and get soaked – especially if it’s brackish water – evacuate that nastiness from yourself without another thought. Don’t be receptive to it clinging to you and ruining your day. The ducks certainly don’t have to consider it for a second – it’s gone and back from whence it came!
Of course, there are some things we should deem important enough in which to invest our resources – just like the ducks know to dig around in that water for hydration and possibly, yummy things to eat! I remember reading quotes from our “Encyclopedia of Dictionaries” as a kid, and one from Thomas Jefferson has always stuck with me: “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” In applying this “Duck Principle,” I’d say that’s a pretty good human standard.
Another thing these little birds have taught me is that you can’t take the suggestion to “get your ducks in a row” too literally. I mean, sure, when we want to round up the ducks back into the safety of their enclosure, we can, in fact, herd them quite efficiently. They’ve become aware of the boundaries of where we’d like them to roam during the day, and are fairly respectful of that. When it comes time to “go back inside” they are fairly quick to comply. But it’s no orderly matter – quite the contrary, in fact – it’s kind of a chaotic mob. And really, in my experience, that’s how things come together when carrying out life plans – never quite how you expect or necessarily, or hope for, but things do fall into place.
Once again, it’s quote time. This one comes from an unlikely, but nevertheless, quite valid source: The character Tarik, from Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle. He’s Harold’s cellmate in jail, and has literally been arrested for being black. But he’s just calmly reading a book, waiting to be released. Instead of getting outraged (rightfully so!) over the injustice he’s suffered, he explains to Harold that he’s confident things will work out. He affirms, “In the end, the universe tends to unfold as it should.”
So just like when we’re herding ducks, and it just somehow works out – the same way in life. The universe tends to unfold as it should. Even if it’s not quite how we think it should.
Living with animals really is more than just feeding, watering, scooping poop, and those types of mundane tasks. Spending time with them just for its own sake is not only enjoyable, it’s thought provoking, too. Farming comes with its own dose of philosophy!
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