In this installment, I will be focusing less on giraffes and more on the example set by some other animals that have counter characteristics to the giraffe.

The first is the chameleon. Chameleons are well known for their colour changing abilities depending on their environment. I think this is a habit for many including myself as feeling different can feel very exposing and uncomfortable at times and it’s often easier and more comfortable for us to try to blend in. For me, I sometimes felt like I was doing something wrong if no one else had the same idea as me as if it was a good or the right way of doing something then someone else would have done it that way. I now realise how silly that sounds now as I have come to realise the importance of having different perspectives. Most of you will know that I am a Christian and one of the things that I love about God is that he made us all for different purposes. One of my favourite bible verses which is of great encouragement to me is 1 Corinthians 12:17, which says:-

If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

This verse has been on my bedroom wall for a good number of years and when I feel insecure about my abilities, it helps me to remember that not everyone has to be same and different talents are needed to do different jobs.

The second and perhaps less well known example that shows the opposite of this is baby seabirds and anyone who saw David Attenbourgh’s Life Story that was on a few years ago might remember the first episode when the baby seabirds had to jump off the cliff only a few days after they were born (a very tough watch!). I feel like we sometimes have this approach to life as well and we put ourselves in unnecessary uncomfortable situations when we are not quite ready as we can be so impatient for change and want to prove ourselves both to ourselves and to others. Although we do need to challenge ourselves at times as these can be good learning experiences but I have had to learn the hard way that there is a difference between necessary and unnecessary challenge that you can give yourself and you have to decide whether putting yourself in that situation will build up or tear down both your physical and/or mental health or if you need more time. I might expand on this a bit more in a later post.

This is why the giraffe is a good example to follow because they make their distinctiveness obvious and from what I can see of them, they have a generally relaxed approach to life without putting themselves in too much risk.

Hope you enjoyed reading this instalment and again if you have any thoughts/feedback, feel free to get in touch with me.

Until next month!

Kathryn