My wife and I love our animals. We live on 25 acres with four horses, six cats and three dogs. Unfortunately, living with so much open space allows our cats to be prey to raccoons and other predators. With that in mind, all our cats are indoor pets. A few months ago, our cleaning ladies inadvertently left one of our back doors open and Esmeralda, our smallest most feral cat, escaped.

Ezzie, our nickname for her, is a beautiful black cat with a little white under her chin. Hoping to catch her quickly, we walked the perimeter of the property calling her with no success. Living in a relatively rural area, my wife and I have have-a-heart animal traps and set one along our 700 foot driveway hoping to catch Ezzie. For two days we caught glimpses of Ezzie without having any luck catching her. The “cat trap” had proven futile, although I checked it every morning before I went off to work.

On the third day, I thought my luck had finally changed and I was going to get my little girl back. As I pulled up to the trap 400 feet down the driveway, I saw a furry black and white animal scratching to get out. Unbelievably happy visualizing a joyous reunion, I sprung from my car to bring Ezzie back home. A closer examination of the have-a-heart trap changed my perspective of the upcoming release.

It is funny, but when Ezzie escaped I did not remember her white being striped down her back. Yes gentle readers, in my attempt to bring my wayward kitty home, I had captured a fully mature, but small skunk who did not look too pleased with her circumstance. (I will say “her” although I will be the first to admit I did not take the time to examine the skunk to properly ascertain its sex).

Being a tad late for work, I decided to wait until I got home to get a tarp to cover the trap while releasing the increasing annoyed skunk. Finding humor in the situation, I called my lovely wife to share the story and explain my plan to her. Now I love my wife but when she suggested I return immediately and let the skunk out, I must admit I thought she was nuts. However, after eleven years of wedded bliss, I had learned long ago the only appropriate answer to this sort of request is “yes, dear.”

As I pulled back up the driveway, I could not help but laugh to myself about the situation. I knew there was a good chance I would be sprayed, but knowing I was voluntarily walking into it struck me as hilarious. As I approached the cage, I moved slowly as possible to get a hold of the mechanism that would release the skunk. I pointed the opening toward a nearby field and tilted the cage up freeing the skunk. As she slipped out, she turned briefly to me seeming to acknowledge my kindness and walked into the field.

I have thought about and retold that story many times in the past few months and something occurred to me. That skunk was relatively calm and benign when I freed it. What would have happened if I had waited an additionally eight hours to release it? In all honesty, I can only think that my smelly friend would not have been amused. That sort of pent up hostility could well have caused me a great deal of difficulty. Dealing with the situation quickly prevented things from getting out of hand.

What might have happened if I had waited or ignored the problem? A parallel could be drawn with what happens when you avoid or bury any personal problem. Like an infection, dealt with it at an early stage it causes minimal damage; allowed to fester, the damage can become massive and permanent.

Unfortunately, our subconscious minds will bury problems to try and prevent them from causing temporary pain. Allowing these problems to remain hidden can not lead to anything but imbalance. Once the impression made from the event is planted in the subconscious mind, unlike the skunk it cannot be easily released. Using hypnosis and facing a problem at the subconscious level strips away layers of camouflage that hides those negative imprints from discovery.

It is those things that are there which you do not see clearly that block us from achieving our goals in life. My wife viewed that little skunk as a minor issue that should be dealt with quickly. I saw her as an issue I could temporarily avoid until I could hide behind my tarp later in the day. With hindsight, I see my wife was correct on this one.

I found Ezzie a few days after my encounter with my other furry friend. But when I leave my house moving down my driveway, I now find myself looking for that little skunk. I definitely have a different perspective on how I would want to deal with her should I run across her again. The lessons we receive in life are not always evident at the time we are learning from them. It is important to avoid setting traps for yourself that you will not see coming when we retrace our steps.