Bear in Mind

Here in the far Northern reaches of the U.S. during the coldest part of the year, it's not easy to keep perspective. The Starbucks drive-thu line is always long. It's hard to find just the right parka in the perfect hue to coordinate with all the boots lining my closet, and my hardwood floors are taking a beating with all the salt the kids track in. It takes focus to not fall on my sword daily.

Recently I was introduced to someone who snapped me right out of my self-inflicted, all-too-human dramas: Lily. Lily is a three year-old black hibernating under a log somewhere in Northern Minnesota. The North American Bear Center has cleverly set a camera providing all of us with a live feed of Lily's long nap. Though most of the feed is full of stretches of watching Lily take her average 3 breaths per minute, there are moments of magic to be seen. The coup de grace being the birth of her cub a couple of weeks ago. Do not fret- you may not have been there to see it live, but thanks to our handy-dandy YouTube, you can relive the birth again and again. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBNtANbW5vE

Want to see more? Want it live? Here is the link to Lily's live cam:

http://www.bear.org/website/visit-us/lily-den-cam.html

I have to admit, I'm a bit mesmerized. I check the live feed often hoping for a glimpse of Lily's furry face (which I have, indeed, caught while watching) or to hear the call of her little cub (I've heard the cry many times as well.) I sit in my cozy house shielded from the snow that piles up on Lily's back, sipping my tea and realize that any drama I might conjure up doesn't hold a candle to what our beastly friends have to go through just for the sake of survival.