Lions & Tigers & Bears, OH MY!!

When every nerve, every muscle, every cell in your body is screaming for you to run, do you think you can control that flush of terror and stand your ground? It's easy to think that you can, but do you really think you would?

MaryAnn and I are hiking the Appalachian Trail. For exercise, accomplishment, and a deep-seated drive to kill ourselves. We started at the Northern end of the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and we're hiking south a few miles at a time. On our second outing, starting at Possum Rest (at their pace, do possum's need to rest?), we were heading down the mountain when we heard a noise. MaryAnn stopped and said "what's that?" Hearing nothing more we continued. Less than 20 paces later we were confronted by the source of the noise. 50 feet to our left a large black bear was clawing his way down a tree staring straight at us! I'm not sure I can describe the sound but I won't soon forget what a bear's claws sound like ripping down the bark of a tree (let's just say your scalp doesn't stand a chance)!! We froze (I think), his eyes were locked on us and for just that second I don't think my brain could make a muscle in my body move. A lightning bolt of terror struck us. Quickly I either said "C'mon!" or "Go!" or "hermiphhrrmp", I don't know which, but in my mind I was trying to put some distance between us immediately! We didn't run but we were walking QUICKLY!! (ok, maybe we ran a little...) After about 20 paces we stopped. (of course I had outdistanced MaryAnn, wanting to put something between me and that bear that he would find tasty!) I turned around slowly and started shouting in the direction of those 6 inch claws! We knew the rules for black bear - make yourself big, make lots of noise and they'll run away. No problem, except when you're facing a REAL BLACK BEAR!!

What I found instantly funny was the realization that both parties, bear and humans, were equally scared stiff and bolting for safety! After several minutes we forced ourselves reluctantly back in the direction of our fears, talking very loudly, eyes scanning the forest, muscles fired up in anticipation of another run-for-your-life, you're about to be a thin mint moment.

If that black bear came crashing out of the brush and began closing the gap between us full-tilt, I didn't think there was a chance in hell that MaryAnn and I would be able to plant our feet, act big, and shout the bear down. At that level of terror I knew the odds were I'd be running, fully aware of the foolishness but running nonetheless. Luckily, thankfully, we never got the chance to disprove my theory because Mr. black bear was far away, up some other tree thinking the same thing. Whew! Within 20 minutes we met four other hikers, one of which said he'd seen black bear almost every day (should we be rethinking this?). Fear faced, black bear stared down, bravery forced upon us, we finished our morning hike with great awe at the magnificence of this wilderness that God seems to have hand-painted Himself.

The thought of successfully forcing myself to stand my ground against a black bear is what has me thinking. Could you do it? No, really, could you? Stand against a charging bear? As you stand, your leg muscles are most certainly ripping at you to bolt, they're firing and twitching and flexing, lift that first foot and turn! Once that action is started you're in full flight my friend. Yeah, you'd be running right alongside MaryAnn and me, and hopefully we'd all be laughing later at how scared we were.

As I sit here, coffee in hand and laptop warmed up, several days later and miles away from our "moment of truth" (I'm glad "fateful flight" doesn't fit), I find the experience eerily similar to many of life's moments. Instead of molding and reshaping my prose, burning precious brain-power and working my morning away (my day off morning I might add), I could be enjoying my patio, watching a show I taped the night before, or just surfing the net (the invasion of Asian Carp is upon us!). There are a number of things I could be doing that would be easier, more relaxing than trying to put into words our 'I crapped my pants' bear encounter story. Believe me, I fought this. It took me 20 minutes to sign in to my blog. I could have turned on the TV just as easily as MaryAnn and I could have reversed course and walked the 1/2 mile back to our car. How many moments like this do we face each day? One, ten, twenty? I'd say plenty, maybe constantly. All day long we're faced with these decisions, do what I know I should do or relax a little. Take the path of least resistance. You deserve it, you've earned it. Chill out, have a drink, watch TV for a while. That phone call can wait, you can write the article tomorrow, your kids are playing by themselves, you can interact with them later.

Success or failure in your life will always be decided by you. It's the six inches between your ears. I knew that bear was gone, I knew he was as scared as we were, yet it was very difficult to force myself down that trail because my mind kept telling me how scared I was and continued to create visual images of a bear attack!! Where did I get these images? My mind just MADE THEM UP! I knew logically it wasn't going to happen, but it was so hard to ignore. Your mind is constantly creating images of failure, sabotaging every effort and keeping you from the unknown, from the life of your dreams. Yet there is a beautiful world waiting for you, waiting for you to rightfully earn your place, but you must push through the fear, the darkness, the pain. You must discipline yourself and not allow these fears and distractions to cause you to reverse course or quit (or never start). In the end it's really so much easier than struggling through life sitting in front of the television or thinking you're protecting your family by avoiding the risk of your dream endeavour. Those are the excuses from the six inches. If you don't believe me, then go to the mirror and tell yourself. Look in your own eyes and restate the reasons (excuses) you haven't been chasing your dream, the one thing in the world that you really want. That thing you think about all the time. Or tell yourself why you're quitting or why you did quit. Look into your own soul, then make a decision to fulfill your destiny even if it means walking back down that trail of fear.

Tomorrow, we're going back again and I cannot wait. One day we'll have hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and wondered why we didn't do it years earlier. You'll be thinking the same thing once you've conquered your challenge. Don't put it off, start today. Just get up and do it. Yes, it will be hard but life isn't supposed to be easy. Go ahead, prove yourself. You have all the wisdom, strength, and resources you need to succeed. The world isn't the answer, the answer is on the inside and your Maker has already equipped you sufficiently. Dorothy always had the power to go home, the lion always had real courage, the tin man was never without heart and the scarecrow was the smartest of them all. They needed a challenge to prove themselves and the wicked witch obliged. All you need here on earth, you were made with. He's just waiting for you to make the decision that you're finally going to be all that He created you to be.

I'm even looking forward to the next bear sighting. Maybe I'll stop running long enough to take a picture...