Porcupines are Porcupines

Do you live with a porcupine?  Do you deal with one at work?  Do you find yourself cornered by one at social functions or in volunteer groups? 

Before you say you’ve never seen a porcupine, let alone ever have run into one in social situations… take a moment to think about it.


Have you dealt with people who are oblivious of the feelings of those around them?  Have you ever had to endure someone making derogatory remarks and needling criticisms in the guise of friendly banter? 

Have you ever met a person who has the annoying habit of constantly asking personal and embarrassing questions?  Have you ever run into an individual with a penetrating, protruding, and intrusive personality?

Have you ever felt compassion for these lonely people?  Have you ever let them close to you, only to be needled by their sharp quills?

Well, then, you have met a porcupine or two in your day! 

Porcupines are slow creatures that have coats of sharp quills that they use to defend themselves. 

Human porcupines are also somewhat slow in the fact that they don’t see how their behavior affects others.  Because they only see things from their own perspective, they become very defensive and use their words and actions to inflect pain to those around them. 

The closer you get to a defensive porcupine, the greater your risk of getting hurt by its quills. 

Porcupines are….well… porcupines.  They are what they are.  You can’t change a porcupine into a soft, cuddly bunny — just like you can’t change another person into someone else.  You only have the power to change yourself.

So, if you ever run into the human version of a porcupine, you have a couple of choices:  stay a safe distance away; be equipped with tweezers, rubbing alcohol, and Band-Aids; develop really thick skin; or wear a lot of protective gear.


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