Life is Riotous

Life is riotous.

It is a perpetual symphony,

At times is a cacophony,

At others, a harmony.

Yet,

like a butterfly

who dances in the sunlight,

dazzling and full of vitality,

it is also fleeting.

Blink and you may miss a lifetime.

~ Katie Dion

Today is National Wildlife Day here in the U.S. It can be easy to get discouraged in your efforts in conservation. It is easy to think that no matter what you do, it won’t make a difference compared to the rest of the world. Especially on days like today, when we should all be remembering the importance of healthy wildlife populations and lauding conservation efforts. But instead we learn  of horrifying news like the eighty seven elephants who were slaughtered by poachers near a wildlife refuge in Botswana, Africa. EIGHTY SEVEN. All for their tusks.

I am absolutely devastated by this news. It makes me want to curl up in bed and give up. But we can’t. Because then people like that win. Instead, we have to be like the young kindergarten student I saw today. After getting absolutely DRENCHED at today’s dolphin show, he looked down in utter shock at his soaking clothes, water dripping off his little nose (I mean, who would of thought you’d get WET sitting in the splash zone??). He could have cried. Had a tantrum. Refused to move on. He certainly looked about to. But instead, he took a very deep breath, squared his shoulders and ran to catch up with his retreating class before he got left behind. There is wisdom in this six year old’s soul. Today was a dark day. But like this boy, we need to square our shoulders and get on with it. Life is fleeting, I don’t want to miss any of it, good or bad.