Skunks

After reading Skunk Dreams by Louise Erdrich I found myself trying to comprehend the vast world that we live in and how we as humans interact with all of its intricacies. The question of what do skunks dream of trigger even more questions in my head pertaining to how everything, not just skunks, view the world in comparison to us. When she dreamed through the eyes of the creature crawling through the forest, a new significance was given to the surroundings astounding the author with the pure massiveness of the world. Between the dreams and the feelings they invoked she was soon to move to the woods and as the author said so elegantly, she found solace in the trees. 

I know for myself I often have dreams were I wake up and have to ask myself why in the world did I just dream that. Sometimes I feel as if maybe I am just alone and I am going crazy, maybe my trying to stand out as an individual has finally pushed me of the small amount of balance that I still have. But then again maybe we all live in a giant karrass that envelopes all things and we really do share the dreams of other things that creeps and crawl in this place we live.

After the skunk sprayed the narrator, the powerful sensation of there-ness consumed her bring all things into sharper perspective, leaving all else behind but what was really there. This was the key to the story. Life is about seeing the obstacles in life and then going after them. If there is nothing to overcome and all that exist is a smooth road then there is nothing for us to live for. In this way I agree that a skunk is one to stand apart, to take what is its, to do what it wants, and never to fear for it knows it can overcome the obstacles it creates in it's own life.