Bear-ly Living
It is not unusual for communities to establish a sort of identity (and maybe raise a little revenue) by establishing some sort of unique celebration, event, etc. For example, my hometown is Metropolis, Illinois. Even though there are no tall buildings to “leap over with a single bound,” there is a “Superman Celebration.” I now live in Paducah, Kentucky where the National Quilt Museum is located. Each year, our population increases temporarily because of “Quilt Week.” I’m sure you can come up with many, many more examples of events and celebrations like these.
I recently became aware of one such event/celebration that may, at least to me, be among the most unique ones in existence. If you are reading this on the day it is scheduled for publication (10/10/22), you are reading it on the next-to-last day of a unique event that takes place at the Katmai National Park & Reserve in Alaska, but is also accessible online.
As I understand it, October 5th through October 11th are the dates this year for the annual Fat Bear Week. The following information from the website of the National Park Service provides the following information about this unique event:
Fat Bear Week is a celebration of success and survival. It is a way to celebrate the resilience, adaptability and strength of Katmai’s brown bears. Bears are matched against each other in a “march madness” style competition and online visitors can vote who is ultimately crowned the Fat Bear Week 2022 Champion. Over the course of the week, virtual visitors learn more about the lives and histories of individual bears while also gaining a greater understanding of Katmai’s ecosystem through a series of live events hosted on explore.org. Join us this Fat Bear Week October 5 – 11 and vote daily from 8am – 5pm AKDT at www.fatbearweek.org.
Basically, here is the idea: People can go online and watch brown bears gorge themselves on salmon in preparation for their yearly winter hibernation. If you want to enter the “‘march madness’ style competition,” you can watch the bears actually get larger and vote for your favorite bear. I don’t plan on participating, but I did read about one newcomer to the competition who has been given a name that may indicate how he might fare — 747!!
When I first heard about Fat Bear Week a few days ago, I thought about how tempting it might be for some people to have a lifestyle like those bears. What if it were the case that all there was to life was eating and sleeping? Wouldn’t that be great?
Would it??
Some of the most miserable people I know are those who think that life is all about pleasure and leisure. Not only are they unhappy, they have a way of making people around them miserable.
The pleasure may or may not be food. It could be any number of things that are meant to focus on self-satisfaction. The leisure may or may not be actual sleep. It could just be the refusal to do anything that takes any effort. Other people are either ignored, overlooked, or sacrificed. Do you think that those bears at Katmai National Park give any consideration at all to all of the salmon that are being devoured? (By the way, according to what I read, one bear consumed forty-two “at one sitting.”)
Some of the happiest and most pleasant people I know are those who think of others and spend time helping them. Their lives are full – in the best sense of the word.
Do you think that it is just a coincidence that the One who expects His followers to live a life of service is also the One who said the following?
…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
Those bears in Alaska are only doing what God created them to do. Sadly, some of us are not. Are you (am I) bearly living or living an abundant life?
Receive All Our Posts Via Email
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
