Connection to the Wild

Connection to the Wild

Written by

Brinna

As a child, my family would spend summers in the great north woods of Minnesota, where my father would teach us the wonders of nature. There were lessons on plants that were good for food, and plants that would make us ill, also, plants that were good for medicine, and how to use them. Among our lessons was how to deal with the animals that lived in the woods, and how to deal with each of them appropriately. He taught us to have a healthy respect for all living creatures, as we share this world with them and are all connected to one another. These early lessons of the wild prepared me for the actual events that would come my way later in life.

In Minnesota, the opening of fishing season in the spring, is a time of getting out after the ice has melted and fishing on open waters once, again. If you don't fish, people think there is something wrong with you. During one such spring, my four-year-old son and me, happened to be in the Boundary Waters area, in northern Minnesota, with my significant other and his family. We were staying in a RV, in the middle of what seemed nowhere, with the only road a dirt one, with many deep mud holes in it. We arrived just before the sun was setting and settled into our camp.

Our first morning in the area, after having breakfast, all of the men decided they would be the first ones to go out in their fishing boat, wanting the be the ones to catch the fish, when the fish were hungriest. That left myself, my friend’s mother and my son at the RV to clean up and find our own entertainment.

Following the clean up, I decided some exercise was in order and took my son for a walk down the dirt road. On either side of the road there was swampland, containing many bushes and a few trees near the roadside. This is a raw wilderness area, barely touched my humans, save for the dirt road, that lazily wound it’s way through the swampland surrounding the lake. Minding our own business, my son and me were walking along, noticing the tiny buds beginning to come out on the bushes and trees and appreciating all the natural beauty in the area, now that the snow had melted.

Having walked about a mile from our camp sight, I heard the crackling of branches and the squishing of many footsteps coming out of the swamp from behind us. Turning my head to see what was going on, my eyes fell upon a family of three moose, coming out of the swamp on our left, not more than twenty feet behind us. One was very large, with new fuzzy antlers, standing nearly eight feet from head to foot. The next was nearly seven and a half feet, and the other, looked like a yearling calf, yet still, over six feet in height. In comparison to my height of five feet, they were giants to me. They stopped and stood right in the middle of the dirt road, as my son and me stopped there also.

Having heard tales of moose charging for no reason, a blot a fear shot though me, as I scouted for a safe place to keep my young son out of danger. There was a tree with a low branch, not too far away. My fear was for us both; yet, I would have my son safe, before myself, as I could run faster than he could. All of my instincts were alive, and fully operational at that moment. And, the lessons that my father had taught me, while we were on wilderness treks, came to my mind. He would tell me, "If you ever come across animals in the wild, just stand still and don’t scare them and you’ll be alright." Remembering his advice, I took my son by the shoulders, holding him close, then I spoke softly and intensely, saying, "I want you to turn around, very slowly and stay very still", wanting him to see this rare sight. He actually did as I instructed him to do! All the while, I was staring the largest of the three moose in the eye, to see if he intended to harm my son and myself. And all the while, he was studying us, to see if we would harm him and his family.

The seconds ticked by like hours, as we continued to study each other. Neither the moose, nor myself and my son were moving, except to try to take in short breaths of air, to keep from passing out. The intensity grew between us, hanging thick in the air, like the morning fog off of Lake Superior. After sixty, or so of these hour-long seconds had passed, suddenly, he let out a short grunt and the others responded and began to cross the road, heading into the swamp on the other side. He stood guard over them, continuing to stare into my eyes, to discern my reaction to his family’s movement. Standing perfectly still and keeping my son held tight to me, I continued to stare into his eyes, hoping with all my being that he would go along with his family, leaving me and mine, as safe, as I was leaving his. Glancing at his family entering the swamp, then back at me, for my reaction, he began to move. Another bolt of fear streaked through me, wondering what he was going to do. As he followed his family into the swamp on the other side of the road,I began to breathe again, all the while, keeping a sharp eye on my son and me, to see what we were going to do. Still keeping eye contact with that huge creature, I smiled and nodded my head toward him, as if to say, "It’s alright. I won’t harm you." Then, the strangest thing happened, he nodded his head and looked as though he were saying, "And, in return, I won’t harm you, either", then he went about his way, catching up with his family.

At that very second in time, I felt so connected to that moose and the entire universe. We took the time to study one another and realized that, we all have that connection... if we will take the time to make it. What an awakening this was for me! It felt to me, spiritual in nature, for a human to connect with a beast of the wild. Yet, at the same time, it made perfect sense to me as well, as we all have the same creator and should be connected to one another. This was our commonality; the Supreme Being of the Universe had placed us all here, on this planet called Earth.

As young as my son was at that time, he still remembers the experience and I have taught him to view it as I do, as something very unique and very respectful in nature. Both man and animal are trying to care for and protect our families, in uncertain circumstances. Those early lessons my father taught me have stayed with me, and been passed on to my son, and even today continue with us in our every day lives. If we could all view the animal kingdom, as an extension of ourselves, wouldn’t it be a wonderful place to live?

THE END