The Stillness of the Iguana

As I entered my house, my dogs Chili, Tommie and Juno were not greeting me. Mmm.. I immediately knew something is up. It is too silent. What are they doing?
I quickly discovered they had been hunting and caught a big iguana. They had bitten off the tail already and the Iguana looked dead. Its eyes were open, but totally frozen.
I called for the dogs; Chili and Juno came, but Tommie looked at me and decided to take his victory pose, showing off his prey. It made me laugh because I don’t actually think he caught it, I think Chili did. She is a street dog and half his size but a real hunter. I don’t like when the dogs kill Iguanas and birds, but I also know it is in their nature to do so.
I decided to leave the Iguana. Maybe he is still alive or maybe not. And if he is dead, I will take care of it tomorrow, I thought.

The next morning, I notice the iguana is not in the place it had been. I had a wonderful morning planned with the children of “Scucha Nos”; the school for the hearing-impaired.  As part of an annual outing organized by Quota International of Aruba, the children hunted for driftwood and come to paint it in my garden. It was such a joy to see how happy these children were as they painted in their favorite colors and the colors of their favorite soccer teams.

To give time for the paint to dry, I invite the children to wander in the garden showing them the Shoco owl, the bird nests, and the cacti. Then one of the girls signals: “Look, an iguana without a tail”. I looked and yes there was the iguana. It crawled through the Kwihi tree, hardly holding on, but he managed. It made me happy to see that he survived.

Staying silent, actually playing dead, for a long time gave the dogs the impression that the iguana was no longer alive. Which is super cool. Animals play dead because most predators have to kill their prey before eating it and, in fact, their feeding stimulus is driven by the act of killing. Also most predators don’t wish to eat rotten meat, the foul smell usually associated with “the playing dead” behavior, deters eating the imposters. That is probably why the two other dogs had lost interest in the iguana.

An iguana can sit still and quiet for a very long time but for most of us humans, this is difficult. Try it.  A suggestion that I like to make is to become silent and quiet during your day. Start small; become silent for 2 – 5 minutes at a time. Or become silent for a few minutes during a family dinner or a meeting.  You can also become silent when your daughter is upset, just stay with her in silence. Or become silent with your kids by playing “Silent like an Iguana.”

When you practice being silent and quiet you can ask yourself the question: “What was different after my silence?” “What happened in the silence?  Did I learn something new?

The Dalai Lama says: “Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.” And I learned, it is in many situations.  I notice every time again when I become silent really quiet, people actually want to be with me, and they also become more quiet and silent too. It is like a coming together of energies that feels more grounded and peaceful. Silence helps you connect with yourself and others.
I would love for you to try it out and let me know what you discover about how moments of silence help you in your daily life.

As I am writing this I see an iguana high up in the tree, lying still, enjoying the sun.
Life is good in stillness.