Political lesson from a slimy snake

Everyone has something that challenges them. I hesitate to call it fear because there's such stigma attached to that word, but we each have something that we shun because it makes us uncomfortable. I had to deal with that last week.

A month ago, I bought a house. I'm still settling in, getting organized, waiting on some ordered furniture. Day by day, a step further. It's a beautiful location with a gorgeous spacious, woodsy backyard. I'm not much of an outdoor person, but I do treasure attractive scenery, and the huge windows enable me to look out at everything and smile. In addition to the front deck, the house has three decks out back, one just off the kitchen.

Imagine my shock as I looked out upon the backyard beauty the other day and saw something on that deck coiling its way along. No one uses the word "coiling" haphazardly, so you know what it was: a slimy snake. Blacker than me. And yes, I've heard: Black snakes are "harmless" -- and even good to have around. As far as I'm concerned, ain't no good snake anywhere near me or my house. My reaction? Where's the For Sale sign?

Thanks to a friend and neighbor whose young nephews were visiting her, the snake went bye-bye. No, they didn't kill it. They approached it with a branch to get it off the deck, but the sucker apparently took a dive onto the lower level and crawled under a deck down there. They said it looked at them and pretty much just jumped, with hardly a nudge from them.

As I saw that snake inching along my deck, though, I said, "I ain't never going out there again!" I decided my flowers hanging from pots would have to take one for the team and die because I wasn't about to go out there to water them again. I wasn't planning to add seed to the bird feeder when the time came, either. Upon seeing that reptile, I declared, "I am so done!"

Here's the deal, though. While, admittedly, I've been a bit jumpy since, the next morning came, and I made up my mind. I would have to go out there. I couldn't live in fear. I had to step out on the deck. Anyone who has ever had to tackle something big -- at least big for them -- could probably tell you the sooner you face it after a situation arises, the better. The longer you wait, the bigger that situation appears, so you have to take the bull by the horns -- or the snake by the tail -- right away.

I knew I had to do just that. Now, I won't lie. Before I stepped out there, I scoped out the area like a private investigator, was conscious of everything while out there, and did not stay out there a second longer than I had to -- but I did it: I went out there. I knew I had to force myself. I admit I did not go down to the other deck and water the plants that are out in the open, but in all fairness to myself, I have actually never watered those. We've had so much rain, I haven't had to, and I didn't that day. But a couple of days later, I realized that from the edge of the upper deck, I could pour water below onto those plants, and that's what I did. #BabySteps. Bill Murray ain't got nothing on this girl!

Many of us don't like snakes. We're repulsed by even the thought of them. Everyone has a challenge. I'm not just talking about creatures. We live in a society of different kinds of beasts to be conquered.

One person's "snake" is opening himself to an opposing view, for example. This is one of those creepy-crawly things we'll get to see again this week during the Democratic primary debates, round 2. Where politics are concerned, we shut down before anything is even said. We choose to stay in our bubbles, lest we be challenged with a thought that might actually counter the "facts" we've embraced. We're afraid the opposition's view just might make a little sense or that the person expressing it might not be as "slimy" as we've believed her to be. In other words, we fear being wrong more than we love what's right. Some folks stick with Fox News because it validates what they already believe. Others stick with CNN because it props up their way of thinking. Both factions are afraid that their thinking might be challenged and that they might have to concede that neither side is as bad -- or perhaps as good -- as they thought.

I don't like snakes any more today than I did last week (political snakes, either), and I imagine most don't; at the very least, we don't want them too close to us. But perhaps we can learn a lesson from my encounter with one. I had to open up the deck door, look and listen carefully, take a step onto the ledge, and consider what was before me. In what other ways should we do the same -- open the door, take a step, conquer the challenge? Our perspectives may not change, and we may still "hate the snake" when it's all said and done, but our willingness to step outside [the box] and see what's there -- or not there, thank God! -- speaks volumes about what we're made of.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member.