Don't vacillate.

Photo by Philip Lax

          In nearly every magazine for birders, there are ads for squirrel-proof feeders and squirrel deterrents such as baffles. Google “how to keep squirrels off feeders,” and thousands of homemade solutions will appear. Some folks suggest putting cayenne pepper in with the seeds or substituting safflower for sunflower seeds. Others grease their poles, install a piece of aluminum duct on the pole or use a slick pvc pipe as a pole to keep squirrels from climbing up. One of the latest solutions is to wrap a dangling Slinky toy around the pole. Some of the more desperate birders have even built a wire cage around their feeders. Most people who have enjoyed feeding the birds for a long time simply give up, knowing that squirrels are both persistent and smart. They will keep trying until they figure a way around any solution folks come up with. The slogan “Don’t vacillate” encourages us to be just as one-pointed in our spiritual focus as squirrels are at getting to the seeds in feeders. Small periods of practice on a daily basis will provide more benefits than a demanding practice done only occasionally. We may have to get crafty like the squirrel and find innovative ways to make time for practice, but the main point is to keep at it.

Cramming all our practice into intensive periods and then falling back into worldly life will bear far less fruit than doing small amounts of practice consistently over the long haul. ~ Traleg Kyabgon

For more information on the fifty-third slogan, go here.