There is a reason I don’t hunt.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy it, I actually really do. It is the afterwards that causes a trigger to go off. It is the smell. Whether it is deer, or an elk, lying there, or hanging afterwards, it causes two things to trigger in my mind. The first, a friend died, which I will not go in to. The second, has to do with my childhood.

Someone, used to own a farm when I was younger. There was this block of wood near an open pit, about two feet deep, by three feet across.

Chickens.

Chock! Thump. Chock! Thump.

This would go on for quite a while, and I never truly understood where they all came from, or how anybody could eat so many. The heads would sit there until everything was done. Just sit there, in that little pit.

This is usually about the time I would get in trouble. I got my pants dirty, from playing. Or I didn’t come quick enough when called. Or my favorite, the sun was shining.

Into the hole I went. Pushed, usually along with a comment about my worthiness, or inhuman nature.

Anyway…

It was the smell.

Never, could quite get used to it.

What used to trigger when hunting season would come along, reminded me of that, but over time, along with some very special people, that changed. Now, hunting season makes me smile. The stories. The companionship of those around. The enjoyment I see when I watch them all talk about this or that elk. Occasionally, that old trigger fires off, but not as often, and not as intense as when it first occurred.

Certain things in our lives will trigger emotions and memories, both good and bad, that we eventually will have to confront if we are to move past them. I eat chicken now, (of course it has to be fried or barbecued, and has to be a leg, but I do).

Finding an acceptable level in which to deal with certain triggers takes time. In some cases, much more than what you might have suspected, but it is possible to move past the debilitating effect of a trigger. I still don’t go near chicken coops, (who would want to?), but that is alright.

Once you find a way in which you can address the things in your life that cause a negative effect, it is only a matter of time before you can move past that trigger.

Hope it helps. Enjoy what you do.