Recently we went out into our yard to discover a bunch of our trees and shrubs had been hacked and slashed to bits and the bark shredded off. There were branchs strewn all over the ground and several fairly large trunks were snapped off at the base.

We had just planted them in the last year and it was a lot of work; so this was very disappointing

Upon looking closer, we determined the culprits were deer. We were thinking venison might be an option.

Apparently, male deer get their antlers in the fall and fueled by testosterone, they attack small trees and shrubs to take out their aggression. Something about smashing things is satisfying to young bucks. I guess it gets them in the mood for butting heads with the other guys.

The competition is fierce to pass on their genetic code with the prize going to the male who smashes the most trees, shrubs and heads successfully.

Yet as aggressive as they are to each other, they also live in fear of predators and have strong flight instincts. Following the herd is second nature.

They are largely driven by instinct, greed, fear and emotion.

Despite what we would like to think, a lot of the time people aren't really much different.

The challenge is to accept that and rise above the situation. We have the ability to reason and the ability to look at things from another's perspective. The way you react is actually a choice.