Ten years ago, if you’d asked me if I had ever seen an elephant, I would have said, “Sure, at the zoo.”  Most of us are like that.  Most of us have never seen elephants in their natural habitat . . . until Africa comes calling.  Africa changes everything.  I got to see my first elephant in the wild in 2019 and many elephants thereafter.

We were out in our land cruiser in Amboseli National Park when we spotted an older bull elephant wandering off by himself. Amboseli is known for its elephant population, most of whom herd together each day coming to and from the hills below Mt. Kilimanjaro in Kenya. But this fellow was wandering off on his own. Dennis, our guide, told us that older bulls who can no longer compete for the females can become quite solitary. We decided to follow this one out toward the perimeter of the park. He sauntered along, picking up a bite of grass here, a bit of shrub there, looking up at us somewhat anxiously, no doubt wondering why we were there.

Kruger National Park was the setting of my husband’s introduction to elephants. Of course we had been to zoos and such, but seeing an animal in the wild is an altogether different experience. He sat beside his father in an open air jeep in the wilds of South Africa, taking in the majesty of these creatures. It was 2013. Twenty or so elephants were milling around the savannah not far from them. The elephants kept their distance while eyeing them.

Where have you been when you have felt the most grateful for what lies before you? Moments of profound gratitude nourish us in ways we cannot begin to understand. I felt that way most recently while visiting the Grand Canyon. Beams of light from the sun were nearly blinding me as we photographed sunset from Lupan Point on the South Rim of the canyon. The waves of light tingled a sensation in my being, a sensation of reverence, of awe, of gratitude for being here right now.

We walked through eons of history one morning. The Grand Canyon is a study of the ancient history of the region. The layers of stone chiseled by the Colorado River stood magnificent in the early morning sun. The Vishnu schist, the Tonto Plain, the red rock of the Colorado Plateau revealed themselves to us, one by one. How long did it take the river to carve this many layers of stone?

From the beginning of our time on earth, she has been our home. From the beginning earth has been our home in the solar system. From the beginning earth has surrounded us with love, with food, with water, with shelter, with fortitude, with places to play, with places to raise our children. Earth nurtures us. She provides the home that we love.

What do you think of as a force of nature? The wind howling? Lightning striking? Thunderous storms? Ocean tides? There are other forces of nature that are equally powerful and vastly more subtle. One of these is the subject of today’s story. First, three concepts: