Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Complete Wildness

Yesterday, as I was taking my Utah dog for a long hike in some California snow, we happened upon something very exciting. We saw a coyote sauntering down the trail in front of us.


People often think I'm strange when I say I get excited when I see a wild animal. Don't I get scared? Don't I think I'm going to be eaten? No, I politely say. If humans were targets of wild animals, people would regularly be disappearing. To be honest, I'm more terrified of some crazed serial killer than I am of a mountain lion or a black bear. But I digress.
When I see a wild animal, I feel alive. I feel renewed. Somehow, knowing there are creatures living untouched and ungoverned by man makes me feel free. There are some things that aren't tamed, that aren't fenced in...that are living a life outside of our civilized sphere. To me, that sense of complete wildness brings a sense of joy. It reminds me of my place in God's creations. That the world is an enormous, wonderous place of which I am just a part.
Did you know they call coyotes "God's Dogs"? Well, I'm sure He was happy, watching me walking slowly in the quiet beauty of the canyon, watching His creations doing what they love.

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