Choosing our path, assessing the threats

There I was, hiking a trail in Maine’s Baxter State Park. It wasn’t Mount Katahdin, Maine’s highest peak, but I was on one of the many other beautiful mountains in the area.

The trail I was on was not a well-worn path. I was virtually alone, save for the odd passerby. Due to the vastness of the park, and the many mountain trails, hikers are supposed to sign in at the beginning of a trail. Then, if one got lost or injured, the park rangers would know that someone was on that particular path. Of course, upon coming down off the trail, you also were supposed to sign out.

I failed to do either.

I was a rookie when it came to hiking and really wasn’t aware of this concept. I was used to being in the woods, however, having hunted and fished for a number of years; but hiking in unfamiliar territory, with no gun, no compass and no phone is a bit of a different story.

I had a backpack. In it were a few supplies — sandwiches, water, extra socks and the like — but not a whole lot of real hiking gear.

I had climbed Mount Katahdin, New Brunswick’s Mount Carleton and other places before and had never had an issue. I figured I knew what I was doing. Besides, what could go wrong?

And then I heard it.

I was perhaps 1,500, or many even 2,000 feet up this mountain. In the woods, off to my right, I heard a rustling noise. I stopped. Was it a rabbit? Perhaps, it would be a deer. Being an avid outdoors person, I was excited to see some wildlife.

Well, it wasn’t a rabbit. It wasn’t a deer. It wasn’t even a famous Maine moose. It turned out to be a rather large black bear. Seemingly out of nowhere, he popped out of the woods, less than 75 feet from me.

My heart rate suddenly increased. This was not cool. This was not Yogi.

Bad things happen. Airplanes fly into skyscrapers. Cars drive into crowds. People pick on (bully) those who aren’t like them. Evil is not a theory. It is real.

A bear walking in the woods is not evil; but the presence or effects of evil can feel like a hopeless bear encounter.

Perhaps some evil acts or thoughts are brought about by those dealing with or suffering from a mental illness. But to say that evil only comes from that scenario would be a misunderstanding. Evil can emanate from within my heart or your heart. Due to a perceived loss, injustice, or stress point — whether real or imagined — we can become bitter, hateful and angry. And then out of our hurt, we can become hard.

In high school, there was a kid — much larger, and a bit older than me — who would sit at the back of the bus and fling pennies into the heads of those of us far- ther to the front. He would throw hats of other students out the window as the bus was driving. One time, as I was getting off the bus, he hauled off and punched me in the arm.

Why he did these things, I don’t know. But he was choosing to be hard.

Thankfully, we can choose a different trajectory. We can choose the way of Jesus. The way of love.

Love can seem like a weak, shallow response when we are angry. However, Jesus showed us a love strong and powerful. Jesus spoke it the way he lived it — boldly, clearly — and it changed lives. Love is better.

More on the bear encounter next time.