I was riding home this afternoon after an eventful day at work. I was a bit despondent because I had not completed my blog post for the week… But I opted not to make a big deal out of it. I decided to open one of my favorite news apps and began sifting through stories, looking for something interesting to read on my ride home.
After perusing the section on politics and reading the story of a disgraced doctor convicted of serial sexual abuse, I came across an unfortunate account of a young man who recently died in the United Kingdom. Thirty-one years old. Cut down in the prime of life. What happened? He was strangled to death by his pet snake.
According to the reporters, this construction worker enjoyed caring for several dangerous animals including about twenty snakes and twelve tarantulas. It was one of the pythons that he fed, cared for, and cleaned that ultimately took his life. From a baby in his hand, this young man looked after this snake and one night, his life came to an end by a snake he nurtured.
This story touched me because it made me think of my own life… because we all have invested our energy and affection into things that we truly believed meant us good. We placed our confidence in people and relationships that we honestly (and foolishly) believed wanted the best for us. Only to realize after some time we were complicit in our own failing. But we must remember, some places where we place our hearts were never designed to love us back as we desire to be loved. Some times we are only feeding the snake that will rob us of our future. Today it may be cute but unchecked tomorrow it may very well be our undoing.
Make sure your heart and energy are in the right place… don’t empower the snake!