Do You Need What You Get?

Do You Really Get What you Need?


From time to time, all of us get discouraged. We face difficult situations that make us want to give up and not try any longer! However, that is no real solution because even if we give up, we will then have a whole new set of challenges to face. I've done it, you've done and I hate to say this, but that's life.

No longer will we be living a proactive life, but rather a reactive one. It really is not a good idea to quit; it is much better to keep going. Sometimes though, we need something to give us a jolt and get us going.

Sometimes we just need a good kick in the pants to get us going in the right direction!

Have you ever heard someone say that an engine needs a "kick start"? You might not have, but that's the expression that some of us older, more experienced people use. That is an old expression that simply means the engine needs an additional spark to get it going. That is what I am talking about today and it's early in the morning. I couldn't sleep, or should I say the dogs wouldn't let me sleep, so I was up at 5:30 AM.


Here's something I just found out. It is my understanding that only one creature in the animal kingdom gives birth while standing - and that is the giraffe. When a cow or a horse, for example, gets ready to give birth, it will lie down to deliver its offspring.

Surprisingly, the giraffe chooses to remain standing while birthing its young. I say surprising because from the birth canal to the ground is a drop of approximately eight or nine feet! What an abrupt way to enter the world! Wham! I don't know about you but I don't know if I would have really enjoyed that drop from my mother. I sincerely doubt it and I would bet, you feel the same.

To make matters worse, a few minutes after giving birth, the mother giraffe will turn and begin to nudge the baby to get up.

Because it has such long, wobbly legs, it is very difficult for the little baby giraffe to get up quickly.

The mother will continue to nudge the baby, while she licks and cleans it, until it breathes its first breath of life and is standing to its feet.

If the baby does not respond and get up quickly enough, the mother giraffe goes into action. Rather than nudging and licking the baby any longer, she kicks the baby as hard as she can! I can imagine that it is wondering, "What in the world is going on?! My mother just dropped me on my head and now she's kicking me!"


If the young animal still does not get up quickly, Mother Giraffe will kick it
again and she will continue to do so until it finally gets up and begins to
walk. You see, Mother Giraffe is very smart. She knows that the smell of blood
is in the air and that if the newborn does not get up and begin to walk soon,
it may end up being dinner for some hungry lion or other wild beast.

Isn't that an incredible story? The first time I heard that, I couldn't help but think that nature truly is awe inspiring.

How does the giraffe know to do
that? I certainly believe it was part of the Creator's plan to teach all of the
animals how they are supposed to take care of their young. The giraffe is the
one that I think amazes me most.

Now, if you and I were watching this process, we would probably believe that the mother was being mean or unkind. Yet, because of the nature and design of the giraffe, she knows what she has to do in order to make her baby walk as quickly as possible.

There is no meanness or unkindness in her actions. It is what she instinctively knows she must do to preserve that offspring's life. This is innate. This is the same thing most people call nature.

She is not afraid of being politically incorrect. She does not care what any other animal thinks of her. Her only desire is that her baby is safe and able to lead a healthy, productive life. This is how a lot of patients are about their care. They don't care that most people think chiropractic is strange and out of the ordinary, but they know it' the best thing to do for them and their family.

The more I think about this, the more I realize that this is how life works for all of us.

Life can be a very difficult teacher! If we don't learn the lessons it has for us, it will likely give us a hard kick. Sometimes it will be a gentle nudge in the seat of the pants, but other times it is a harsh kick right in the teeth! If we don't pay attention or respond as we should, we get kicked many times in order to wake us up.

Now, I am not suggesting that we should physically beat up our children, family members or co-workers in order to make them do the right thing. I never said that. I certainly think we should operate out of compassion rather than meanness and with a little smart thinking to go along with it. But, I think the giraffe demonstrates how important it is to be motivated to get going in life and head in the right direction.

I don't know about you, but I can honestly say that I welcome a good kick in the seat of the pants if that is what I need. I want to be alert to the lessons that life has to offer me and not miss even one of them. I find these lessons everywhere and try to share them with you. I know you may not consider this a marketing lesson, but it's a marketing lesson in life. In a word, I want my life to have meaning and purpose and I love sharing my thoughts with you!

The next time you go to the zoo, spend a little extra time observing the giraffe.

It is an amazing creature that GOD created and it teaches us one of the greatest lessons that life has to offer. I, for one, am grateful for the difficult kicks I have had in my life because they have done more to help me grow than I would have done otherwise. I didn't like what happened to me a lot of times, but there was always a good outcome from it. The old saying really is true, "What doesn't kill you makes you better." Maybe that originated with the giraffe!

I wish you all the best on this beautiful Monday.

Dr. Carney