Lone wolf

“We are not designed to be lone wolves.”

The above is an excerpt from a recent blog; the discussion point was around people who are widowed, divorced, or for whatever reason, without a partner.

There’s something for single people to consider; those people who are seen as having made the choice to live a single life.

 How do they like the idea of being seen as lone wolves?

Hunting around, (appropriately) I find a definition for lone wolf:   

                                               

A lone wolf is an animal or a person that generally lives or spends time alone instead of with a group. The term originates from wolf behaviour.  Normally a pack animal, wolves that have left or been excluded from their pack are described as lone wolves.

I sit, staring at the computer screen, my mind idling in neutral, while images and words jump around and flicker by, like an old newsreel.

 A frame freezes.

Writ large in the frame is that well-known phrase ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing.’

Maybe this is the solution for the lone wolf who has been running outside the pack and might like to join the pack again; pull on some sheep’s clothing, saunter into the flock and mingle.

But first, there are things to consider.  Your chosen sheep’s clothing needs to be the right fit. Look down. Those feet are not the feet of sheep. Remember this when you are walking through a field.  Walking - not trotting. Think about it!

And when you have succeeded in mingling there is a lot to be said for resting in the shade of trees and assessing the situation. Getting up too close and personal, too soon, and you run the risk of smiling and exposing that long thin nose and those shiny white, sharp teeth.

Panic and pandemonium are to bound follow.

Do not be too discouraged if this mingling venture does not pan out the way you might have hoped.

 

Being a lone wolf is OK. Toss the sheep’s clothing high up in the branches of the nearest tree and head back to your lair.

A good book or a DVD will pass the time in the evening. Maybe Hilary Mantel’s book, Wolf Hall. None of the main characters are wolves, though some of them possess personal traits not unknown to wolves.

And there’s  the movie, Wolf Creek, designed to scare even a wolf into staying closer to home and not wandering along, down by the highway.

And finally you can always resort to those old familiar fall-backs; a run through the forest in the wee, small hours, or one night with the moon in the right phase, finding a high, rocky outcrop and having a long, drawn out, cathartic howl.

Live your life.  Be your own wolf.