On a recent trip to South Africa, I had the opportunity to go on a safari. During the safari, I had the extraordinary privilege of seeing many exotic animals in their natural habitat but one in particular left a lasting impression—a lioness.
Our vehicle came upon her and her cubs (the cubs were asleep behind her). She laid on the ground, alert, watching us, but holding her position. I was mesmerized by how large, muscular and perfect she was; she was beautiful. However, after staring at her for a few moments, I realized that our eyes were locked on each other. I panicked. I couldn’t remember whether you are supposed to look away or if holding a stare was threatening. She began to motion like she was going to get up and was intently eye-locked with me. The moment she began to move, fear grabbed me and for the first time in a long time. I felt scared for my life. Fortunately, our guide took note of the movement and promptly began driving away.
I couldn’t help but think then, and continue to think daily since seeing her, about her intensity. Obviously no words were exchanged, but I knew exactly what her position was. She was pure focus and power. The way she was ready to come for us to protect her cubs was unquestionable. It made me think of how we are today in our daily lives, and how we are viewing sustainability and the threat to our survival. To what extent are we seriously considering our childrens’ future on this planet and how are we protecting them? What if the lioness didn’t take us as a serious threat and was complacent, walking away, calling our bluff and essentially handing her cubs over? Is the world we are leaving to them going to be an unlivable place unless we intensely focus and make movement now, like the lioness?
We need her focus, intensity and power to leave the world a better place for our cubs. The lioness moved without hesitation to protect her young. So what makes us hesitate when we hear information about creating a sustainable world for the next generation? Why does the concept of sustainability seem to be a threat to some or a word that others roll their eyes at? What are we teaching our young about their survival? Are they learning skepticism and complacency over survival?
We have to start taking the threat seriously. We have to believe that we are capable of making enough change to make an impact. The experience with the lioness imprinted on me that we can never allow someone else to take our fate into their hands. We have to protect what we have, be intense and stay focused for the next generation and future ones. We are powerful and capable. So we should act.