Marlin Perkins, long-time host of television’s “Wild Kingdom,” spent most of his life trying to put people on a first-name basis with animals. His wife Carol wanted to marry him so badly that she never let on that she did not fully share his passion for wildlife.
Soon after their marriage they went to central Africa. She tried valiantly not to complain during the long expedition, but one night she was exhausted. She said she wasn’t hungry and just wanted to go to bed. So she undressed and reached for her pillow, when out from underneath crawled a huge lizard that ran up her chest and down her arm.
Carol started to scream and couldn’t stop. She was so tired of being brave. Marlin came running, and after he saw that Carol wasn’t hurt, he put his arm around her and said, “Honey, think of how lucky you were to see him up close.”
I’m with Carol. I would find it difficult to appreciate the experience. But I still respect Marlin’s awe and enthusiasm for all things alive. He was able to marvel at the wonder of creatures and never lost his passion for animals. All living things, in their own way, were beautiful and splendid to this irrepressible lover of nature.
You may not choose to share your bed with a lizard, but do you find this world an exciting and wondrous place? Do you marvel at nature’s handiwork? Do you want to “see it up close”? Does a spectacular sunset, the smell of seawater, that first spring flower, or the soft fall of snow soothe your soul? In short, are you excited about life and this magnificent world in which we live?
One who stands in awe at the wonder of this world and universe is never without a sense of mystery. That amazing man Albert Einstein once said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” But only one is the way of joy.
--Steve Goodier
Image: flickr.com/Mauricio Ulloa
