I was recently watching a video of some orcas or killer whales playing in California.  I had a thought.

Orcas are the apex predator of the ocean.  One reason is that they have relationships and they have each others back.  They teach the younger orcas to hunt.  Some orcas hunt sharks, some hunt stingrays, and some eat fish.  Different orca pods teach their young different skills.

Orcas survive in pods.

I used to think that the great white shark was the top predator in the ocean.  That changed when I saw the movie, A Whale That Ate Jaws.  Before that movie I never knew that orcas ate sharks.  The movie shows a whale watching company that saw a great white shark get attacked and killed by an orca.  The orca rammed the shark and turned it upside down until it stopped breathing.

Great white sharks are solitary animals.  The moms don’t teach the young to hunt.  The baby sharks are independent from birth.  At least this is what the scientists believe, they don’t know too much about the mating habits or birthing habits of the great white shark but they do know that they spend most of their lives alone.

This got me to thinking that humans do better when they are in relationships and not so solitary.  Its ok to be by yourself for a while but not for a long time.

I used to be solitary for a long time.  I remember I would go to work and the grocery store and that was about it for a couple of years.  I would see my friends about every 6 months and my family about twice a month.  Now I am more social. I’m not just focusing on getting a romantic relationship, I have family and friendships that I can be fulfilled in.

The lesson that I learned from this video is that orcas have balance.  They hunt when needed, they play when needed and they sleep when needed.  They don’t work themselves to the bone hunting all the time.

I would have dreams about orcas.  They would teach me so much in those dreams.  That’s why I consider orcas my spirit animals. I’ve always been interested in them since I was a child.  I wanted to be an oceanographer when I was little.  This is an excerpt  from http://www.spirit-animals.com about orcas:

Just this morning I woke up and I looked up the meaning of elephants.  My landlord has a picture of an elephant in my room.

It’s a beautiful picture.  After having a conversation with my best friends last night, the message fit with that conversation. This is an excerpt from http://www.spirit-animals.com:

The message that I got from this is to take care of yourself first before you help others and your “instincts will lead you where you need to go.”  The other message I took from this is the need to “unearth buried memories so that you can release them.”  To me that last sentence can mean to look into your past lives to see lessons that need to be learned.  I agree that a person has to take care of themselves first before helping others.

When I first became a nurse, I wasn’t taking care of myself.  I would get tired from walking up one flight of stairs or doing just one round of compressions on a patient.  I felt like a hypocrite when I was teaching my patients about their diet when I was clearly not eating healthy myself.  I wouldn’t even take my lunch breaks or any bathroom breaks either.  When I started to take care of myself, I became a better nurse.  I now walk up 7 flights of stairs and only get winded when I get to the 5th floor.  I can’t help anyone else if my cup is empty.

The other part about shifting focus I don’t feel like I need to do that part just now.  I feel like I’m looking at the bigger picture already.  I know I always have room to grow and learn.  I will listen to other viewpoints and I won’t ever stop learning.

I believe that nature can teach us lessons.  Nature has balance.  The animals don’t kill all of the animals they eat at one time.  They only eat what they need.  They rest when needed and play when needed.  Every animal you see has a meaning or a message.

What animal do you like?

Maybe that animal has a message for you.