What is it about living with the wild ones?
I only know that it is necessary.
Tag Archives: Animals
A Richness
“The cost of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it”~ Henry David Thoreau
Wanting and needing less. Understanding the true cost of things as they relate to expenditure of life force and time. These are pursuits of this stage of the journey in my life.
Being immersed completely in the sounds of the ocean,
and the forest.
Being aware of the raven’s call.
Observing the wild ones with an honoring.
Noticing the nuances of spring’s unfolding.
Feeling the energy of life all around.
Being immersed and aware of life. Is enough. Is “free”. Is freeing.
These are the riches that enhance, build up, and do not deplete your resources.
Yes, there is a richness.
A deep and satisfying wealth of experiences in these gifts.
Ravens – A Photo Gallery
Raven teaches me of endless curiosity, partnership, work ethic, continual learning, listening, mystery, intelligence…
They fascinate, stimulate, illuminate.
I am always aware of their presence….
“I am a black bird, a Raven, I am Raven. I know and I am knowing—I know and see life and death, expansion and contraction and I do not shiver and cry—I am unafraid.
I am Raven. I am black as liquid night with wings and my eyes are stars to see by.
The light within me leads the way and it is revealed through my eyes and I am what lies between the dark and light.
I am the balance between.”
–H. Raven Rose, Liquid Me: A Collection of Poetry and Prose
They Are Other Nations
“We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals… We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of haven taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours…gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time.
-Henry Beston
Once You Are Real
“He said, ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.'”
-Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
Something of the Marvelous
“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. ”
–Aristotle
The Face of Autumn
“No Spring nor Summer Beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one Autumnal face.”
– John Donne
Advice From A Ranger
Tim Rains is a Ranger in Glacier National Park. He is also a talented writer and photographer who posts regularly on Glacier’s Facebook page. I love sharing his prose and the way he absorbs his personal experience of being in the wild places. You feel the love he shares with this wondrous environment… *if you’re not connected to the Glacier National Park page do it now, I know you’ll enjoy it!
https://www.facebook.com/GlacierNPS?hc_location=timeline
Here’s one of Tim’s posts at the end of his season in Glacier (the photos are mine)…
Advice From A Ranger (tr)
remember to always wear your hat,
take a good honest look at your shoes,
they’ll be your friend for the next sixteen miles,
then repeat after me:
water is life, water is life, water is life,
take a drink even when you’re not thirsty,
and then look around you,
wherever you are,
you are no different,
than the alpine paintbrush or the grizzly bear,
than the aspen,
or the mountain goat,
water is life, repeat after me, water is life,
and then take another drink,
pack a snack, and then pack another,
and then if you’re like me, pack one more,
and make it something nutritious,
something delicious, something to share,
like chocolate covered espresso beans,
or huckleberries, or honey jalapeno jerky,
or whatever makes you smile, makes you go,
one more mile, one step farther,
because you’ll need it here,
this is not a place for the mild at heart,
this is a place for the wild,
say your “Hey Bears!”, respect their “Hey You’s!”,
their baaaa’s, and bleats, and albeit cute, tiny mews,
share the trail, share the lake, share the road,
and then find a place, wherever you can go,
close your eyes, put your hand to the stone,
take a much needed breath and pay respect,
to those who came before,
your ancients, your elders,
be they stone or cedar, or person,
take another breath, and then one more,
and when you’re ready,
open your eyes, open your eyes, open your eyes,
for this is a place,
to look up,
to look out,
to look down,
and when you are done,
looking up, and out, and down,
then look in, and listen,
and remember:
I’ve said this once,
and I’ll say it again,
this is not a place for the mild at heart,
this is a place for the wild,
look in,
and listen,
you, are no different.
Take another drink of water.
Where You Need to Be
“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I’ve ended up where I needed to be.”
~Douglas Adams
I so love where I’ve ended up! So definitely where I need to be.
A Biography
“Animals are not just living things; they are beings with lives. Next time you are outside, notice the first bird you see.
You are beholding a unique individual with personality traits, an emotional profile and a library of knowledge built on experience. What you are witnessing is not just biology… but a biography.”
(Jonathan Balcombe)
Charles Littleleaf Native Flutes
