This morning I was reflecting on my journey, and it occurred to me that it was several years ago this week that I traveled to an amazing place in nature: Yellowstone National Park! The memories are still so fresh in my mind that it seems like just yesterday. You may recall from my July post “Life Is An Adventure And Meant To Be Explored” that while I adore staying at 5-star hotels, I equally love an adventuresome, rugged trip. Yellowstone proved to be exactly that!
This national park was one of the most magical places I’ve ever visited, and I felt truly blessed to experience its forests, canyons, rivers, and geysers. Reflecting back, I realize that the biggest lesson I learned on this trip was that living in harmony with nature can and should be our priority. In fact, I believe it’s our ultimate destiny.
I often blog about my morning walks in my neighborhood. I so enjoy the birds chirping, reminding me to sing; the squirrels playing, reminding me to play; and the butterflies fluttering by, reminding me to spread my wings and fly, too. Walking around in Yellowstone proved to be a similar, yet even more profound experience.
What shocked me upon my initial entrance into the park was that the animals that live there have no fear of humans. I encountered wild elk, huge bison, furry marmots, and even tiny chipmunks—all of which you could get within 15-20 feet of . . . if you simply approached them carefully. And, despite nearly 29,000 visitors to the park each month, the animals were comfortable just hanging around and waiting for humans to take their pictures! Even in the city of Yellowstone, female elk and their babies lounged around on the grassy mediums between the streets. The elk were entirely comfortable with people approaching them.
While on this trip, it dawned on me why the animals are so at ease: They have no fear of being hunted. In the park, hunting isn’t allowed; the only shooting that takes place is the snapping of cameras and millions of photographs are taken each year. Also, the animals are very familiar with the steady flow of visitors—both on foot and in cars—interacting with them every day. The whole thing seems perfectly natural to them, and it appeared they’d have it no other way! They looked content and happy.
Yes, living in harmony with nature is an everyday event at Yellowstone! And what an amazing example of how we could live differently with our animal companions—if we choose to do so. Imagine a world much like Yellowstone where humans and animals live side by side without fear.
Living in harmony with nature is an important theme interwoven into my upcoming book, Journey of the Lightworker. My main character, Kyra, has a love of nature that transcends her everyday life. First, she has a recurring childhood dream of a magical forest, and then later as an adult, she is drawn back to the serenity the forest offers her. She views it as her special sanctuary for peace and meditation. And, in spending time among the Redwood trees in California, she makes friends with the forest creatures and rediscovers her childlike innocence.
This week I encourage you to put love in your heart and spend some wonderful grounding time in nature. Take a moment to observe all of the amazing creatures that God put on this planet—and who knows, you might even encounter a fairy or a unicorn, too! XO Shari
2 thoughts on “Living In Harmony With Nature”
This design is steller! You definitely know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
Thanks so very much for your kind comments!