Strong or die: The Lions' lesson.

First things first: watch this video. It's hilarious. If you're offended by other people making jokes about cultural differences using absurdities, then perhaps this isn't for you. The mechanical stuff is legit though.



I've been Watching a lot of big cat documentaries lately. Pretty awesome. Here's one thing (among many others) I picked up: for predators, survival and prosperity correlate to where they as an individual or a group lie on the strength spectrum. A healthy cat is a strong cat. A sick cat is a weak cat. That is how it breaks down in the wild. They don't take genetic predisposition into account and they don't care who has what kind of family history. The cat is either strong enough to bring down a large animal to eat, or too weak to survive. There's very little middle ground for them. This is even more true for solitary cats. If a cat isn't strong enough to impose its will upon a prey animal, it dies. Simple as that. There's no reasoning or excuses. You're either strong or you die. If you can't even tear off a piece of meat, no one will spoon feed you. If you can't fight for a feeding spot on the carcass, you die; there are no leftovers. If you can't outrun a bigger cat, you die. If you can't hold your ground in a fight, you die. They don't play nice. The researchers never refer to any other features other than "strength". How that strength is used is up to the cat. Side note: brawn is not without brain as the strength takes a lot of intelligence to apply correctly.


The funny part is that you'd think that lions would not be so ruthless as they roll in prides and can potentially provide for each other. Quite the contrary. They seem to understand that if an individual is not an asset to the pride, then he or she is a liability. There are no social programs to support them into old age. Once a female's cubs are old enough to find a spot on a carcass and hunt, her work is done and if she can't keep breeding, then she's just a mouth to feed now. What she does is pretty amazing. Without any drama, she'll disappear into a remote clearing and will simply pass and the rest of the pride moves on. The cubs may call for her, but they understand that she's gone.

The moral is that in the wild, there are no excuses or medical studies to fall back on. You're either an asset or you figure it out otherwise. Being strong(er) makes an individual or a group member a valuable asset if not a leader and there is nothing objectionable about that. We, humans, have learned to stop rewarding true strength to instead reward pity points.

I can't tell you how often I hear about a person's genetic background every day. Then I get to hear about how all of their bones are somehow different than others' and their metabolism is as unique as a snowflake. Their hands can't hold things because their skin is special and the sun causes a strange response that no one has ever seen before. Doctors can't explain what's wrong with them and they've already seen the Dali Lama. I'll tell you what ails them: WEAKNESS. Weakness is a debilitating terminal illness that infects every part of the body, including the mind. We are not designed, biologically, to reward or to be weak. Our bodies, minds, and spirits don't like it. Weakness is why your body breaks down. Nothing stimulates growth and as such you do the opposite to conserve nutrients. Also, we make movies that glorify strengths and overcoming obstacles, not decrepitude.

Folks, you get the picture. Be honest with yourselves. Are you strong? Are you an asset or a drain? Instead of feeling guilty about being a drain, perhaps you can start by addressing your weaknesses. Any one of them. We all have some or a lot. Start somewhere. You'll have a few weeks to do it until we reconvene in January.

Maybe these pictures will inspire you:

There is a good reason that every culture I can think of uses images of big cats to symbolize strength, power, and ferocity. Not weakness. Alas, to make it in their world demands at least that.

Enjoy!