Shaking hands with a snake is a powerful metaphor for engaging with untrustworthy, unscrupulous, or dishonest individuals. These people may present a friendly facade, but they may have hidden agendas or destructive intentions beneath it.

Setting boundaries is not just a tool; it’s a powerful shield in your arsenal. It’s a way to assert your needs and protect your well-being. Trust should be earned, not presumed, especially in the presence of red flags. By setting clear boundaries, you can navigate these relationships with confidence and self-assurance.

Sighting a snake in the house or near the premises brings jitters and utmost apprehension as if the person will be bitten and die. This evokes a primal fear—a reaction deeply rooted in our evolution.

Ophidiophobia – one of the most common specific phobias that stem from our ancestors’ need to survive in environments where venomous snakes pose a real threat.

Ilha da Quemada Grande, also known as Snake Island, is an island off the coast of Brazil in the Atlantic Ocean. This small island, barely 43 hectares, is forbidden because every centimetre it passes is a deadly reptile.

Imagine the giant and venomous snakes strolling around in our society. Are we living on the Snake Island? Who would appreciate wriggling snakes on the premises?

A stick can stop a Snake, but how do you prevent and deal with an evil and toxic person from sitting across you? — A Person with slimy fingers and a filthy grip that holds and shakes vigorously, trying to attest to his sham loyalty and farce fidelity.

Beware of this breed!

The Snake is deceptively defamed as it uses poison only for defence or to kill for survival. But man, as a weird snake, harvests poison in his mind and annihilates his fellow men. “Snakes hide in the grass, people in their lies.”

The Hindu religion created Lord Shiva’s garland to shield innocent snakes from human ire and ruthless panic killing. Unfortunately, there is no therapy for the toxic human breed — ‘The Sleeve Snakes.’

Sleeve snakes metaphorically refer to individuals who are sly, secretive, or crafty, exulting venom and fiery anger. Snakes are often symbolically associated with cunning and stealth. These people hide their true intentions and manipulate others like a snake hiding up a sleeve.

The tradition of vigorous handshakes during ancient war times was to milk out the hidden arms up the sleeves. I wish a handshake could expose the noxious creepy-crawly hidden up the person’s sleeve and armour from the imminent perilous alliance.

The villagers burn or cut the grass low to scare the snakes. However, human snakes unsteadily sneak into our intellectual precipice, making us sad and needy. Although we desperately fumigate our emotional premises, cutting down on our expectations. It is griming and intriguing if some people were born as snakes or bred into what they are. The slow, noxious squeeze precedes the final venomous bite, making the sufferer helpless and passionately meagre, reaching his pathetic culmination. These people are a bundle of negativity that must be nullified by dissolving their toxicity and winning the other’s positivity.

Snakes need to slough on themselves to rejuvenate. Sometimes, they can’t slough, get sick, and eventually die from the old skin without revealing their colours. An evil person manipulates and energises his basic instincts and negative motives, striving to show his colours by committing malicious deeds. He has a dubious life of cutting corners and taking convoluted routes. Like a snake, he can’t be leashed or made to walk straight.

Salman Rushdie said, ‘For every snake, there is a ladder –for every ladder, a snake.’  — Like the exciting game of Snakes and Ladders — a ladder follows every snakehead, symbolising the potential for growth and progress. Improvement is likely even after encountering setbacks, negative experiences, or people. It’s up to us to choose the ladder over the snake.

Dealing with and confronting toxic people is an art and a challenge to be accepted and requires utmost care and vigilance –

*Stay observant – beware of inconsistencies in peoples’ words or actions. Like a snake, they reveal subtle signs. Observe their behaviour over time, as their true nature often reveals itself in patterns.

*Set Boundaries – Don’t get enticed in their schemes and maintain a healthy emotional and professional distance.

*Trust Integrity – Deal with honesty, conviction and fairness even if you deny reciprocation.

*Self-Protection – Be vigilant in sharing personal sensitive information or shouldering responsibilities.

*Gracefully bid adieu if needed – Step aside without trivial and unnecessary confrontation if it becomes toxic and unbearable.

Wild beasts spare those with similar markings, as they have a better fellowship and understanding of each other’s struggles and experiences. Humankind should learn this lesson: ‘Spare your brotherhood from your toxic instincts.’ In other words, we should respect our experiences and struggles and show empathy and understanding towards each other despite toxic behaviour.

GAUTAM BUDDHA beautifully writes, “Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past repeatedly.” This shedding is a metaphor and a call to action for personal growth and self-improvement.

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