'Real World': What rare sights have YOU seen?

(This week, we welcome veteran communicator Terry Gallagher. Here is Part 3 of Terry’s thought-provoking series on the natural world.)

“Did you see anything?”

I hike a lot when I’m out in the real world, on my vacations up along the southern shore of Lake Superior.  (Remember we’re talking about the real real world this week, the one that consists of air, water, earth, plants, animals and sunshine.)

When I come off the trail, I often I run into car campers or other tourists and, given my nature, we usually fall into conversation. They always seem curious about the idea that I just walked a half-dozen miles through the woods, and that I’m about to turn around and walk back. Invariably, they always want to know one thing: “Did you see anything?”

I’ve figured that they mean did I see any big animals, what my biologist friend calls “charismatic megafauna.” People who watch a lot of TV must think the woods are just teeming with wildlife, but in reality you almost never see anything much bigger than a chipmunk or a chickadee.

On the other hand, every now and then I’ve seen some great, big animals in the real world and it is a deeply thrilling experience.  Last week I saw a bald eagle soaring over the cliffs and dunes east of the Au Sable Light Station, and was reminded why animals at the top of the food chain don’t need camouflage.

On other trips, I’ve seen a moose, a bear, and a wolf. They were extremely fleeting encounters, but we knew immediately that we were in the presence of something completely wild. It is very rare, though, so you have to know to grab hold of it when it happens.

“How many moments of religious experience are lost to some men because of incredulity?” One of my college profs attributed that tag to Heraclitus, and it’s one of the things that I think about when I get reconnected with the real world: when you’re in the presence of something great, magical, mysterious, majestic and fleeting, that you have to grab hold of it and recognize it as a moment of religious experience.

Do you have similar moments of religious experience in the real world?

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ABOUT TERRY GALLAGHER: After working more than 20 years in higher education, Terry Gallagher is exploring new ways to use media and messages to build stronger institutions and communities.  Most recently, he has joined the board and helped launch communications efforts at the InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit, a new group with a long history.

Comments

[JIm Todd]

Since you restrict your question to only those that interpret their experiences in nature as a religious one, no.