The Free Radical

It didn’t take me long to figure out that foraging season is pretty much over.

Winter snuck in during the night and gifted us with about four inches of snow! Rose hips, juniper berries and bear berries are about all that’s still available… and the bear berries are such a sprawling, low-lying plant that they are wholly covered in snow, making them considerably harder to find… for us all.

My walk this day had me just a few hours behind the Invisible Bear. His path crossed mine in three separate locations. My route tends to zig-zag mainly in the north-south direction. The Invisible Bear was heading straight west, cutting across my path as I followed.

If this is indeed the same Invisible Bear from earlier this spring (and I strongly suspect that it is), then he has grown significantly this summer season. His footprints are a fair bit larger!

As I’ve said, his path cut straight west into the Purcell Mountain range… where I have my secret shack in the woods. Years ago I followed the tracks of another (larger) bear up the same mountain road. Its denning site was nearby. It seems that as soon as the snow flies in significant amounts the bears immediately turn to hibernation mode. It seems a mite early yet, but the summer season was incredibly abundant, and hopefully the bears got their fill just as I did. Hopefully they’re well prepared for the long winter dream…

“We are sovereigns, you and I,” said the Invisible Bear. “I know it; you do not. The time has come to know what sovereignty really means.

“Freedom or sovereignty cannot be granted or given… for how could self-determination ever come from another? It is that which you claim because you KNOW that that is what you are.

“To know your own sovereignty without doubt is a purely introspective endeavour. Freedom exists within you first… and only then can it be expressed in the wider world. It is innate… awaiting re-discovery.

“My long introspection begins now. I will dream with the Earth Mother of sovereignty. We must all claim our own self-determination, and then in freedom may we choose our future collaborations together. As I turn now to sleep, humanity learns to fully awaken. I earnestly expect to greet you as your own sovereign self in the spring. Find your courage in the meantime… and know that sometimes it is as elusive as an Invisible Bear!”