Many people draw on inspirational quotes to get them through their work days. This may sound strange, but the only quote that I have hanging up in my office for inspiration is one in which Edward Abbey reminds me not to work too hard.
“Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast…a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. “
Lucky for me, my job actually requires me on occasion to get out and enjoy the world. I recently returned from a trip to Yellowstone where I got to revel in the splendor of our country’s first national park. Situated in the Northern Rockies, Yellowstone encompasses all of the wildlife issues that NRDC works on in the region. In a span of a few short days we saw wolves, grizzly bears, black bears, foxes, coyotes, moose, pronghorn, mountain goats and so much more. It was a week of inspiration and renewal.
(Mountain fox on Specimen ridge)
It was a week that I needed more than I knew. And it has refueled me to get back to work to protect these incredible wild places and the wildlife that calls them home. While we can. While it’s still here.
“So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space.” – Edward Abbey
(View of Slough Creek)