 |
|
|
 Vallarta Living | May 2007 
The Unwise Contemplation of Murder Most Fowl
 Joy! - experiencejoy.com
The haggard desperation in Ricky's face told me he truly was at the end of his tether. "I can't stand it any more" he told me "I have to kill them; they have left me no other choice, you understand don't you?"
I did understand. I've heard a lot of terrible things in my life as a psychoneuroimmunologist, but nothing as teeth grindingly exhausting as Ricky's nemesis. I completely empathized with him; he had been driven to this appalling decision by months of them constantly wearing him down.
"Can you help me?"
"Yes, we can start by clearing the stress around it"
"No, can you help me kill them? I know how to do it, I've done it before, you of all people know it can't go on like this, I can't sleep, I think about it, plan it, every night, it's the only way, you know it is, they have to die."
I was deeply shocked, not by Ricky's desperate plea, but by the fact that I actually considered it. Not the murder itself, I could never do that, but I was in the perfect position to act as look out...
We are neighbours, Ricky and I, and the roosters that had driven him over the edge live in the brush in front of my apartment. There are at least a dozen of them and they crow 24/7. The 2 am till 4 am chorus was the one that had led him to this terrible solution.
Mexican roosters don't restrict themselves to welcoming dawn just in their part of the world. They celebrate sunrise all over the planet, announcing its progression around the globe in strident tones that echo deafeningly throughout the tiny valley we live in.
Ear plugs, loud music, headphones, nothing works to muffle the grating "ach arach aroooooooo" and when they all get going together...
The daytime crowing doesn't disturb Ricky because he escapes to an office down the street. Consider my situation however; a big part of my job is clearing stress and trauma for people. I often begin by leading them into a light trance, using Eriksonian Hypnosis to relax them into their subconscious, gently releasing the cellular memory of the trauma, and freeing them of the pain of the event.
The least desirable noise you can have at this point is the world renown 'wake up, you've rested long enough, get up and get going' call of a rooster! You might as well blow a bugle in their ear.
Ricky wasn't alone in wanting to strangle the lot of them.
Ahh, but where would we be if we each systematically killed off everything that irritated or frustrated us? The world would soon be a very empty place!
No, as tempting as it is to simply eliminate what we see – or hear – to be the cause of our problems, it is inevitably wiser to consider other avenues. We can rarely change that which is outside of ourselves, but we can always choose how we are going to feel about it, and it's astonishing what can change externally when different internal choices are made.
Erikson taught me to use what is present with the client to deepen their trance; he's all about acknowledging and accepting what is, which makes much more sense than trying to ignore it.
"Every time you hear a rooster crow you feel even more relaxed, even more comfortable in your awareness that a new era is dawning for you. The sound of these roosters heralding a new life, one without this pain, makes you feel more peaceful and confident with every breath."
If a thing is inevitable you might as well use it to your advantage, than fight it and weaken yourself.
I also realized that some of the roosters have a different kind of crow than others. Instead of cock-a-doodle-doodling, they opt for more of a 'shave-and-a-haircut' rhythm; ARCK ka ca ca ca. So, as I am a whimsical creature who encourages magic at every opportunity, I decided to use that too.
I was dubbed 'the Wish Granter' in the United States and the moniker stuck, I encourage my clients to bring a wish list to their session, or at least a wish for their own personal health or happiness.
"Welcome to my space, I'm sure you noticed the roosters, but did you know there are magical roosters in amongst the regular ones?! It's true! You can tell which ones are magical because instead of crowing 'cock-a-doodle-doo' they crow 'your-wish-is-granted!' If you are very lucky you might hear them crow that for you, and if you do, you'll know it means your wish really is on its way to being granted."
Then we have a laugh, and because they really do leave with their wishes granted, they might even believe in magic a little more. If they are really lucky they'll have magical roosters near where they live too, reminding them that this particular crow means their prayers are always heard and their wishes always granted – just never in the way they expect - and so the magic continues thanks to the roosters.
I reckon one can never have too much magic in one's life, and let's face it, with challenges like these, we can do with all the magic we can get!
Like Ricky, I find the 2 am and 4 am chorus to be exceptionally frustrating. My bedroom doors are made of net, I have NO audio privacy at all, and they love to gather right outside to serenade me. Sleep just isn't an option unless I am really dead to the world.
I have two primary choices when the roosters call me to wakefulness hours before the sun comes up:
I can toss and turn and rage and fantasize about their demise – an option I have found leaves me even more exhausted.
I can give thanks for the opportunity to use the sound to take me into a meditation that may or may not lead to sleep, but obviously needed to happen or I wouldn't have been awoken: An option I find helps me clear a lot of stuff I wouldn't otherwise give myself time to clear, and leaves me feeling more rested the next day.
Author Byron Katie tells us that suffering is just the difference between what is, and what we want it to be, and that simply accepting what is will eliminate all suffering from our lives.
Well, some things are easier to accept than others that's for sure, but in lieu of eliminating roosters – or anything else that makes me gnash my teeth - I'll opt for eliminating the suffering through acceptance and changing the way I choose to feel about it.
 JOY! Is an internationally acclaimed life transformation coach, famous for her unreasonable success in helping people move through their challenges with her unorthodox approach and emPOWERment tools. For more information, visit her website ExperienceJoy.com or call 044-322-129-1128.
Click HERE for more articles by Joy! |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us