What Will I Be Given Today?

What will I be given today?

I really like this question, which I heard a couple of weeks ago from the photographer who led my photo safari to Tanzania. (Thanks, Russ).

He remarked that people often ask him what kind of animals they will photograph that day. His response -- What will we be given today? -- is perfect for situations over which we have no control. We cannot determine which animals will be in the area and which will be visible. We don't know what the light will be like until we see it. And it could change very suddenly.

So this question -- What will we be given today? -- is an appropriate one. It tells us that we should accept whatever we are given that day. This doesn't mean that we cannot fervently wish to see a leopard, for instance, or a herd of elephants. One day in the safari vehicle, my travel companions and I put our wishes to see certain species of wildlife 'out there' to the universe. I really wanted to see at least one elephant, and we did see elephants that day, several times. We saw elephants in interesting situations. One person wanted to see an elephant spraying itself with water, and we did. For that day, at least, everything we wanted to see was given to us. I'm not suggesting that our requests were fulfilled simply because we wished it so, but putting one's intentions to the universe seemed to work that day.

I have given a fair amount of thought to the question since I first heard it while in Tanzania. I now view the larger interpretation of this six-word question as an invitation to open ourselves to a myriad of possibilities. This question can be applied to many situations, not just to wildlife sightings and good photographic opportunities. It is up to us to accept and appreciate whatever we are given. Being open and flexible to a variety of possibilities can be a challenge. It also can be very rewarding. 

This doesn't mean that we will never be given bad or inconvenient things. It doesn't mean that we will like or enjoy everything we are given. We may be given bad news. We may be hurt by someone we care about. We may not see that hoped-for leopard in a tree.

Or we may be given an opportunity we never expected. For example, one morning we set out on our morning game drive in a dense fog. My heart sank. But then we found ourselves in a thin layer of fog and soon began to get excited about the photographic possibilities. Then we stopped at the sight of a male Grant's gazelle near an amazing tree. Camera shutters clicked away. The brown of the gazelle popped against the gray background. We were disappointed when the sun burned away the fog far too soon. And we started wishing for a foggy morning the next day.

We may be given the chance to make a new friend, or to learn something about ourselves. Perhaps we will be given the chance to make amends to someone we have hurt, or to carry out a random act of kindness. And just maybe, we will be blessed with the appearance of an elusive lion with a magnificent mane or an amazing herd of elephants. The possibilities are endless.

This question has reminded me to be open to whatever opportunity presents itself. To return to the African photo safari example: Some days, particularly in the afternoon, things were boringly quiet. Even the birds seemed to have gone into hiding. On those days, we were offered the gift of patience. Some mornings were quiet as well, and then suddenly a pride of lions was spotted, or a leopard cub and its sibling, or perhaps an elephant feeding near the road. We never knew what we would be given. Just as in life, some days we were given something totally unexpected or wonderful. And some days, we were given disappointment. 

What I take from this question is a reminder to be open to whatever life gives us, whether it is something good or something bad. Sometimes we have no choice; bad things happen to everyone. 

We alone determine how we will deal with what we are given each day. Each of us decides how we respond to what life gives us each day.

What will you be given today? And how will you respond?

 

 

Gathering the Memories

I'm not quite ready to start downloading and editing my images from Tanzania, but I am thinking about the amazing photo ops and experiences we had. 

This trip was filled with new and exciting experiences nearly every day. Everyone on the trip, including our guides, agreed that seeing a herd of 30 elephants as we entered the Serengeti (led by the matriarch and followed by 27 other females, babies and youngsters, with two bulls, one of them in musth, bringing up the rear), was the highlight of the trip. We spent an hour one evening watching two female lions and their cubs playing. This same family kept us entertained one morning playing in a tree, with one of the older cubs trying to figure out how to get out of the tree. We also spent time watching two leopard cubs posing and playing together on a kopje.

A pair of secretary birds was busy with its courtship activities as it built a large nest at the top of the tree. The male eventually flew off to gather more nest material. A pair of cheetahs was also doing its pre-mating ritual, with the male making chirping noises and the female growling. We watched as a not-quite-ready lioness walked away from the male lion pursuing her. 

I love lying awake at night listening to the sounds of lions, hippos and hyenas (an animal I consider to be evil personified). I say this about the hyena because it eats its victim while it is still alive. The hyena isn't big enough and doesn't have a strong enough set of jaws to suffocate its victim by clamping down on the throat as cheetahs, leopards and lions do. I was fortunate not to hear the screams of a baby wildebeest as it fell victim to a hyena one night, something that took place behind the tents of a couple of others who were part of my group. 

I did however, watch and photograph a lioness as she chased, caught and suffocated a terrified wart hog. This lioness and her sister were still learning the art of suffocation, so the wart hog suffered far longer than it would have with a more experienced lioness.

It was heartbreaking to see a baby wildebeest that had become separated from the herd and that was walking toward a hyena. I learned that while a mother wildebeest will call for her missing calf, she soon moves on, seemingly having forgotten about her doomed offspring. We saw several wildebeests, who have very skinny legs, limping along on three legs, knowing that they would not survive for long. 

We also saw moments of tenderness between a newborn baboon and its mother and between a nursing zebra foal and its mother. It is the scenes of life and death in the bush, which is neither easy nor kind, that keep me going back to Africa. Life in the vast openness of the Serengeti, in the marshes and deserts of Botswana, is life at its most basic, at its rawest. Life there is harsh, yet beautiful. The fight for survival is a daily occurrence.

I was fortunate to get to spend time with two women who made the trip so much fun. I hadn't met them before the trip,  but we definitely 'clicked.' One day the three of us were in the vehicle with the only male being our Tanzanian guide. He showed so much patience as we laughed so hard we cried at times. That day was memorable not only for the animals we saw and photographed, but also for the laughter and good times.

Once I download and process my digital images (of which there are thousands), more memories of special experiences will flood my brain. I will share some of these images in the future. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these images from previous trips to Africa.

#africanaturephotographyandsafaris

Making the World Better

What will you do today to make the world a better place?

A Facebook friend recently asked this question, which I found thought-provoking. I was encouraged by the answers. Two people picked up trash in their neighborhoods. Another mowed a neighbor's lawn. I donated to a non-profit group that rescues dogs that have been abused or neglected, provides all necessary veterinary care, and finds new homes for them. I was, however, disappointed to see only a handful of responses to the question.

This doesn't mean that people don't do good things, but perhaps that many of us have to make a conscious decision to do good. Or perhaps some simply don't want to reveal their good deeds.  

Nothing I do will change the world. That is true of most people. Only a few among us have the power and the influence to change the world for good or for evil. Think Hitler and Stalin. Think Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Lincoln. Think Jonas Salk, developer of the first polio vaccine. Think Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who fought to advance equal rights for women. Think Rosa Parks and Jane Goodall. Think Florence Nightingale, Malala Yousafzai and Billie Jean King. Think Greta Thunberg.

Each of us has special talents we can put to use to improve our world. Check on an elderly neighbor. Shovel snow from a neighbor's sidewalk and driveway. Tell a child what a good job she did on something. Adopt a homeless animal. Donate food or money to a charity. Think about the things you use (water, electricity, gasoline) and commit to using less of them. Be friendly to strangers. I had a brief chat at the grocery store recently with the man stocking produce. It lifted my spirits. Donate blood. Live mindfully. 

Something that hit home with me was the amount of plastic I use. I take my own reusable shopping bags to the grocery store and to the department store, something I have done since long before it became trendy. If the purchase is small, I ask that no bag be used. But what really opened my eyes was learning that the southeast African country of Tanzania has, as of 2019, banned the use of all plastic bags by citizens and visitors. Violators are subject to fines and possible time in jail. 

When I travel, I put my bottles of shampoo and conditioner in a gallon-size zipper bag. I have used the same bag for years. I also put my tea bags (I take my own tea with me when I travel) in a small zipper bag. Other things also go into plastic bags for ease of organizing everything. But I have had to find alternatives to plastic in my suitcase and carry-on bag prior to going to Tanzania. My first thought was to pull out the brown paper lunch bags (left over from when my daughter used to take lunch to school) and some waxed paper bags. Not ideal, but they might work.

Then I dug through a drawer and found a small nylon bag with a zipper -- perfect for holding the small toiletries I take on the plane with me, such as allergy medicine, eye drops, a small tube of toothpaste, a toothbrush, etc. Then I bought two nylon makeup bags to hold other items for the suitcase.

Several months ago I started using laundry detergent sheets rather than in large plastic bottles, which if we’re lucky, get recycled. If not, they end up in the landfill. I now use shampoo and hair conditioner bars rather than plastic bottles.

The point of all this is to remind us that we can all do something -- if not every day, then frequently -- to make the world a better place. Kindness and smiles cost us nothing. And with just a bit of effort, we can find ways to lessen our impact on this planet.

And just maybe, if we practice often enough, doing things to make the world better will become a habit, something about which we no longer have to think.