Sages and wise people urge us to stay in the present moment. Generally, I try to do that.  Right now, I seem to be failing.  The past doesn’t haunt me.  I have no problem letting that go by thanking all the good that has come my way with equal appreciation for the challenges that have made me who I am.

However, the future right now scares me, or maybe I am just too focused on the constant assaults on our pretty little planet.  It doesn’t seem to do any good to point blaming fingers.  That only delays any hope of restorative action.  In a day of news that is either “fake”…or it isn’t, it is hard to know what to do to save the integrity of the trees, the bees, the frogs, the wolves or any of our other of our endangered earthly voyagers. Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac says, “There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot”.  I want to grow the category of those who cannot.  We will all be better for it.

This makes the mission of Liberty Wildlife even more important.  As I see it, knowledge is the answer.  Awareness is the answer.  Compassion is the answer.  And, that is the mission of our education group at its core.  That is the mission of our rehabilitation service in its daily quest to stop the suffering, save the individual, help the human who cared.

We can do a lot, and we do.  But, we can’t do it without the help of our community, large and small.  For whatever reason, we are seeing more animals every year.  Is it because more are needing help?  Is it because more people care?  Or is it because we are doing a better job at making ourselves available?  It is hard to tell…maybe all of three ring true.

We can’t stop the fires in the Amazon, but we can cultivate an awareness of the importance of trees to all of us.  We can’t stop the staggering loss of species to extinction, but we can teach to appreciate the importance of each species to the whole shebang.  We would love to be able to save habitat to suit the all needs.  In reality, we can only bring knowledge to individuals who in numbers can vote to make policy that allows for the welfare of our shared existence.

Let us never forget John Muir’s evocative quote, “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”  And, the future of our world scares me.  What are we going to leave to our children, their children, and the rest of nature?  If that thought doesn’t haunt you, I don’t know what to think.  I guess I can work harder to stay in the present.