(Notes From FB Live Sept 3 2018 ~ Click to Watch)

I chose a small beaver soapstone as a memento from a friend who passed away. It reminded me of a wonderful lesson in perseverance I learned from a family of beavers. I used to trek about 2 miles through the bush to a small lake when I lived in the Yukon. It was where I went to find my serenity. I would sit and contemplate life and try to find my soul. I had the immense pleasure of watching a couple of beavers build their second damn and expand the lake. And oh my gods the baby! So cute flipping and playing and generally getting in the way. I loved watching the parents educate their rambunctious offspring.

It was spring when we had a heat wave surge through the land. The snow on the mountains thawed and flooded the land. A few weeks later I made the trip to see how the beavers faired. It is still one of the most shockingly devastating moments in my memory. I came up over the rise and was greeted with utter devastation. The lake was gone. In it’s place was a bowl of emptiness, a tiny little creek running through a basin of slime and plant rot. The dams were no where to be seen. I sat down hard and cried.

As I snot bubbled and hiccuped I heard a noise – a crack and a crash. Startled I jumped up and there he was. My beaver. Dragging his prize. A healthy young popular perfect for the beginnings of a new dam. And then Momma came waddling out. I sat for a few hours and watched them diligently dragging, chewing, placing trunks and branches into place as the recreated their world. Just as I was leaving I saw movement and then I cried again because there was baby! I thought he/she had been lost!

As I walked back I thought hard about the lesson from the beavers. There entire world was destroyed. But they didn’t sit and moan about it. They got busy. They knew what they needed to do and they didn’t waste any time getting to it. It really impressed upon me so much that it is no big deal. Move on. I have taken this lesson and applied it many times over in my life. Thank you my little persevering beaver family.

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