Not Your Average Bear…I Mean Walker

            Do you remember when Yogi Bear used to say “I'm smarter than the av-er-age bear!” ?  I know…that ages me. My grandkids don’t know who Yogi Bear is and my girls probably don’t either. Anyways, I thought about him this morning when I was walking. I’m still in my self imposed solitude at a campground and I love walking the park in the mornings.

            Since I’ve been here, I’ve tried to turn my brain off when I walk so I can meditate (let God talk to me). I’ve been fairly successful, until this morning. The campground is full for the weekend and there are a lot of other people here. As I walked, I noticed that the other walkers were not like me. They were either walking with another one or two people or they had their music piped into their ears. That’s what made me thing about Yogi, he wasn’t your average bear and I’m not your average walker because I like to do my walking alone and without interference.

            If I had been walking and talking with some else this morning, or listening to music, I would have missed what God wanted me to see and hear and smell and feel and touch.

            I would have missed the sounds of the birds chirping and cawing. I would not have heard the wind in the trees, and I would not have heard the soft splash as a fish jumped in the water. I would have totally missed that moment of silence when I was alone at the edge of the creek.

            I probably would not have noticed how blue the water looked, how green the trees were or how fast a squirrel can scurry. I would have totally missed what I think was a blue heron as it stood regally in the waters. I probably would not have stopped to watch a momma goose and her little ones as they walked silently at the shore line. I would not have thought about how my own children, like the baby geese, used to follow me so closely when they were little. That was a memory I needed.

            I would not have noticed the warmth of the sun on my shoulders or felt the wind in my face.

            The intoxicating smell of the honeysuckle would not have stopped me in my tracks and made me go closer to them. I would not have reached out and pulled a blossom loose and touched it to my tongue.

            Yes, I may have missed the company of a friend or missed the sound of a beautiful Christian song…but there is a time and a place for everything. Today, it was my day to listen to the voice of God and sense His presence all around me.

            And I was glad that I’m not your average walker.