I’m always amazed by how much nature can teach me in certain moments in my life when I am incapable of seeing things clearly for what they really are. Nature makes every situation look so much obvious and yet, I digress into never-ending questions and ambiguous answers.
The other day I watched a video about this incredible wolf attacking a large and majestic moose. The moose was calmly standing alone at the edge of the lake drinking water. It quickly grew suspicious as if it knew something was lurking behind the trees. A determined wolf was hiding inconspicuously in the woods peering at the moose while waiting for the right moment to attack. The wolf sprung unexpectedly out of the leaves and into the water and surprised the moose with a thousand splashes and a ferocious bite on the animal’s thigh. In return, the moose kicked the wolf so hard that it knocked him out of the way without hesitation.
The wolf, half drowned and hungry, was relentless, though. It would come back again, jumping through the water and trying to snatch a piece of flesh here and there with no avail. I was at first impressed by the bravery of this lone wolf, but then I quickly realized his efforts were a bit quixotic. He was too involved in his great mission to see his own disadvantage. For him, the moose meant life or death; nothing else mattered. The furry predator tried again and again to hunt the moose and bring it down, but the moose stood confidently without a serious injury.
It was crushing to see such a great hunter lose for the wrong reasons. The moose was so much bigger than him. It was tall and stood gracefully above the water. The wolf was shorter and seemed to exhaust all of its energy just trying to keep itself afloat between deadly kicks. The moose was certainly alert and ready to fight, but it never lost its composure or looked out of breath like the wolf did.
It was a battle that had an obvious ending, but the wolf didn’t seem to retreat. “I am a great grey wolf. I am a great hunter. I am faster. I am hungrier. This moose is perfect for me. It is exactly what I want and I will win.” That’s what I thought the wolf would be saying to its ego as I watched it lose in this violent match for survival. It wasn’t that the wolf wasn’t brave enough, or strong enough, or fast enough. It was just the wrong time at the wrong place with the wrong prey. Of course, the wolf was magnificent and beautiful, strong and nimble, but to take down a moose of that size, the wolf would’ve needed the help of a pack. Since it was a lone wolf, at least, it should have waited until the moose was out of the water and on land. But the wolf couldn’t help himself; he had no choice. He was hungry. He didn’t know any other way to hunt. There was no time to lose. He needed to continue trying.
After being kicked so many times, the wolf let the lonely moose walk away, taking with it any sense of pride he may have had. He went back into the woods hurting with an empty stomach and kept on striding until the next hunt.
If only I could learn from this wolf and this moose and understand that I’ve been doing things the wrong way—repeatedly—clinging on to the ways I’ve always done things in the past. I have remained only to receive hard kicks that have left me with a bloody face and a thwarted and achy body, just like this hungry wolf. As I see him walk away defeated, I see myself in him, losing again and again.
If only I could learn from the wolf that wanted to hunt a moose. If only I could let go. If only.