Continuing from last week’s Oh, They’re Quick, You know…, a somewhat longer installment in the ongoing lives of Coyote.
First, let’s recognize there’s nothing like a good scratch.
Scratching, with humans, has many triggers. Often humans scratching is simply a response to something moving on the skin. An insect, for example, or a piece of falling debris.
It can also be an indication of uncleanliness, and that gets us into grooming behaviors, something I discuss in my That Th!nk You Do books. Not all grooming behaviors are triggered by uncleanliness and all grooming behaviors have a social function even when the individual is self-grooming.
One of most fascinating triggers for scratching is BMIRs – Behavioral Manifestations of Internal Responses.
The individual who scratches their face, their arms, their hands, their head, any body part, is often signalling an internal response to their environment, their situation, what’s going on around them and what they’re immediately focusing their attention on.
That last part – immediately focusing their attention on – is important. A BMIR can be triggered by a memory, an anticipated event (future projection). I explain aspects of BMIRs in the aforementioned That Th!nk You Do books and also demonstrate their use in my The Augmented Man.
(not suggesting you buy them (although you should!), just sharing resources for you)
The Wild is not much different.
So beware.
The Wild has memories and anticipations, too.