They Are the Rooster

Roosters don’t evolve or change – people rarely change either. Sometimes they evolve for good or bad, but at their roots, they are the same people. Just my take.

Recently on our YouTube channel I shared a story about a rooster, eagle and a hen. The quick story is how an eagle and a rooster attacked one of our hens, and how she was saved due to the amazing instincts and actions of our youngest livestock guardian dog.

I shared the story because honestly, I was trying to unravel what happened in this situation, how I played a role in this, and how I might handle it differently in the future. I had some serious guilt about the attack on our sweet hen, Marigold.

Your Mindset

Homesteading forces you to examine your mindset, your belief systems – in essence – who you are.

Nature can be very forthcoming in its actions and often there is no need for debate about what to do. 

Roosters are unabashedly forthcoming. They are who they are. Watch a rooster for a couple months and you’ll know if the rooster will be kind or cruel. It is honestly 100% guaranteed that the core being of this rooster will not change. This is actually a relief to know, as it makes decision-making about the rooster quite simple.  Do you keep the rooster because he is kind? Do you remove the rooster, by various means, because he is unkind?

If only life were this black and white.  Roosters don’t change WHO they are. They might evolve through some serious behavior-modification training. But I have to say, even that is doubtful unless you plan on standing outside in your farmyard, keeping an eye on the rooster when his favorite hen walks by. Good luck with that.

I had made a mistake regarding my sweet hen, Marigold. We introduced her back into the flock too soon. She had been sequestered for months, as she healed from a rooster attack.

I should have known better. This is the painful truth. I mean, when a rooster shows you who he is, believe him. Right?

Roosters Don’t Change: A Painful Lesson

We introduced her back into the flock, because she had healed. I planned to keep an eye on her all day. However, within the hour, while I was still inside the house, the rooster proceeded to mount her, practically destroy her, while simultaneously, an eagle overhead saw easy prey and came in for the kill. Our livestock guardian dog saved her. She is alive and well and back in her separate chicken coop healing, once again.

This was a painful homestead lesson to learn. I foolishly had thought that perhaps the rooster might find other hens to entertain him, while we had Marigold sequestered for months in a separate chicken coop. I thought he would forget about her – his favorite. I thought all sorts of lovely things that did not come to fruition.

Guess what? People Rarely Change Either.

I am always learning. And I recently had said in a YouTube short about myself, that I had changed. I take that back. I don’t think I changed. I think I evolved. I am still the same person, rooted in the same beliefs, but I have definitely evolved and grown as a human being.

But, roosters don’t change OR evolve.

It’s very black and white. And I love homesteading for these lessons; they allow me to see the world, myself and my homestead in a new light.

If people rarely change, it really is a wake-up call to better understand how this impacts our own personal lives. Is it possible that someone can change? Sure, nothing is impossible. But, in my experience, it’s incredibly rare. Most people, who are kind people, have always been kind people. Bullies, honestly, tend to stay bullies. I wish it weren’t true, but that is my experience. One’s mindset is typically evident in their actions, especially if you are privy to these actions over a long period of time.

People who do not change, often dictate the systems within which we live.

These systems may thrive and do beautiful things to support the people in the system. Or, the system may function simply to allow a few at the top to flourish. Some people who lead systems are immoral. This system could be your work environment, your school, hospital, government or simply, your family structure.

If kind people are in charge, people who care about the well-being of everyone in the system, it is a beautiful thing to see! If not, obviously, the goal would be to change the system and leadership.

To create change in a system controlled by immoral and powerful people, often requires a revolution. Incremental steps towards progress are important, but it can be painstakingly slow to create change in a system entrenched in power, governed by rules…rules created by those in power. The immoral leaders in power, benefit from the rules they have created.

My farmyard is a system. Something must happen to create change in this system so that Marigold can thrive.

My rooster can be relocated to another homestead, or removed (aka chicken broth), and Marigold can return to the farmyard and join the flock. In nature, the truth is this, the power structure would stay the same if I left the rooster.  With no intervention, the rooster would thrive and the hen would not.

This is the dilemma. It is painful. I don’t want to kill the rooster, and I also know that it’s gonna be slim pickins to find another homesteader who wants a mean rooster.

That rooster will always pick on this hen. Marigold is his favorite. This dynamic will not change. He doesn’t care if he harms her. He holds the power and he will use his power to get what he wants.

Why is this?

Hard fact. Some roosters are mean. And….

Mean roosters in power who want to maintain their power often do so by harming other chickens. They do not care if they harm the other chickens. Maintaining power is the goal.

Let’s take that phrase and tweak it.

Another hard fact. Some people are mean. And…

Mean people in power who want to maintain their power often do so by harming other people.  They do not care if they harm the people. Maintaining power is the goal.

Okay, so let’s unravel this a bit.

There is a difference between a rooster and a human. This is where it gets SO challenging to see and understand. Some people in power, who harm others, in order to maintain power in a system, use subtle tactics to keep the people in the system from knowing they are being harmed. These tactics often fall under the label of gaslighting.

My rooster is not subtle. He’s a straight up asshole.

Sometimes life grants us assholes, and we can find the exit door, and leave these assholes behind.

Assholes who hold great power often become bigger assholes, more blatant assholes, the longer they are in power.

Assholes, unfortunately, like the rooster, often stay in power because people fear the asshole and the repercussions of leaving the system (understandably so). This is a horrible and cruel reality we live in. Think Harvey Weinstein.

Not all immoral and unethical people in power are so blatant.

Powerful leaders can be subtle, conniving, and kind/cruel all at once; they are your gaslighters. They repeat patterns over time, patterns which at first glance, seem to be gestures that perhaps you misconstrued. But at closer look, these patterns are typically sprinkled with poisonous jabs/actions/words/facial expressions…something that is harmful to your well-being.

These sprinkles typically keep you down, keep you small, keep you quiet and “in your place”. These quiet sprinkles scattered in a system, can be so confusing; it’s called gaslighting. It causes you to question your reality.

As you look at these patterns, you wonder if you imagined these moments in your life. Did it really happen that way? How did this progress so gradually, and smoothly without any repercussions to the leaders in charge? You look around and wonder,  why do I feel so depleted and disillusioned? Why do people believe these leaders are good people?

My rooster is beautiful. Positively beautiful….at first glance.

When we are being gaslit, we would actually love a rooster to show his true colors and make it clear to the world that he is a straight up asshole. We want the world to know who harmed us. It would be so easy, wouldn’t it? If people knew the rooster’s true colors? Would the masses all revolt against the rooster – and protect those who were harmed? No, not necessarily.

Discovering you’ve been harmed, by those who hold power over you, makes you view the world quite differently.

If you are hoping to Root | Move | Grow – aka – evolve in life, and you are being constrained due to a person or a system that inflicts power in ways that harm your growth – your evolution, this growth, can be a challenge to create.

I do not have the answers, but I do know this.

I believe that unraveling power structures and getting a clear picture of what I am dealing with is key to determining how to move forward.  I believe that a clear and rooted mindset allows for clear decision-making. My mindset is key to moving forward.

There is no magic bullet. However, if I understand the ins & outs of a power structure that is constraining my ability to thrive and grow, I am able to devise a plan. I can create a knowledge base, a community network, and therefore, decide how to proceed within, or outside of that power system. My mindset, rooted in a plan, can allow me to find a way to pursue my dreams in life.

So, if I have a plan, why don’t I simply execute the plan….right? Keep moving forward, right?

Absolutely. Move forward. Yet, often, our emotions keep us hanging on, hoping that people in power will change. For example, if I’ve worked at a job, in a system for twenty years, I might really hope that this can ultimately work out. I’ve invested a huge portion of my life in a system.

I will say this again, because I know this for certain…

It is rare that a person in power who harms others, in order to maintain power, will ever change.

People who maintain power want to keep their power – and if they do so immorally and unethically, this is who they are. Ever heard the saying, when someone shows you who they are, believe them?

They are the rooster. They do not care. They do not care that they are harming you.

This is hard to stomach – gut-wrenching hard. As humans we always hope that people have the best of intentions. We wonder, perhaps they made decisions that harmed us… because they had no choice?  Perhaps they don’t know what they’re doing? Perhaps they lack the ability to see or understand a situation? Perhaps….perhaps….perhaps…..

I call bullshit.

They are the rooster. Remember this one lesson.

If they harm you, in order to maintain power?

They are the rooster.

They do not care about your well-being, and that is a huge and painful understanding. You know what is more painful? Staying with the rooster.

Understanding who is an uncaring rooster, will help you plan and move forward, within the system or outside of the system.

To Root | Move | Grow and evolve, you must have fertile soil – the more the better.  Keep plowing, keep planting, keep watering and nurturing your plants. Keep moving. Understand the rooster and find the best plot of land you can in order to plant your seeds. Find the best community of hens and roosters who support your well-being. Value your knowledge and your understanding of what is needed for you to thrive. Your mindset can lead – and you can evolve into the amazing human being you are destined to be. Don’t let a rooster keep you cowering and small. We each have one life – make it everything you want it to be.

Take care. Now I have to make decisions to help Marigold. The mean rooster can be relocated. The rooster can be removed. The farmyard can be restructured to separate the rooster. The hen can be sent to a happy home without roosters. There are decisions to be made about my rooster.  Make your decisions with a clear, informed mindset that is focused on your roots and your well-being.

We are all Marigold, in some ways, aren’t we?