The Bear/Bare Necessities

(Small watercolor study)

All living things require some basic essentials in order to survive from day to day.  Boiling down a bear's requirements will lead you to basically two things they need.  One is food. That's not surprising! For a bear, eating is serious business. What kinds of foods make up a bear's menu?  Contrary to Goldilocks' findings, bears enjoy berries, roots, and grasses. They will dig for rodents, eat ants, grubs, other insects, and sometimes meat from a winter-kill animal, fish, or larger mammals.  

The other necessity for bears is shelter for the winter.  From the fall to mid-April a bear usually stays in hibernation.  It may dig a den in a hillside, under tree roots, or stay in natural caves.  During this period, their heart, breathing, and body temps lower to conserve energy. This enables them to survive the long winter period without eating.

"More Than You Can Bear"

8" x 10"

Acrylic

Food and shelter...the bare necessities in life.  Bare necessities are what you would consider as just sufficient resources.  They are what is absolutely necessary, with nothing to spare. As humans, we also need nourishment and shelter.  So much information is available to inform one on how to eat healthy.  Many of us endeavor to make wise choices in our diet. But I want to encourage you to not neglect the feeding of your mind and heart, as well.  Never stop learning!  If you stop learning, you are dying inside.  Read widely and read deeply. A favorite quote of mine is by Benjamin Disraeli:

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think."  

Joseph Addison also made a similar statement in the 18th century:

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body."

So....what are some great books that you have read in the past year?  Are you currently reading one?  Gene Edward Veith wrote that "the wielders of influence will always be those who read and write".  Readers are leaders!  Gladys Hunt has written in her book, Honey for a Woman's Heart, that "reading makes one bigger on the inside...reading helps one feel life...it is a window into reality...it takes us beyond ourselves."  Reading is an absolute necessity if you are going to grow in understanding life and contribute to other's lives.

As shelter was a necessity for bears, so it is for us.  Beyond our physical dwelling places, a place of safety and nurture is required for our souls.  Where do you turn when encountering life's overwhelming problems?  King David wrote in a variety of his Psalms verses like these:

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;

my hope comes from Him.

He alone is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God;

He is my mighty rock, my refuge.

---Psalm 62:5-7

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and

my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.' "

---Psalm 91:1,2

So as you head out into this summer, don't forget the bare necessities.  Take along a great book.  Read to nurture your soul.  And be sure of your shelter.  What anchors your life? Think carefully about that.  And keep an eye out for those bears going about their serious business foraging in those mountain berry patches!

Live bravely and beautifully!