Fear the Bear?

We have a brown bear that treks through our front yard on occasion. Last spring/summer alone we saw it a half dozen times. He picks berries from our yard and apples that fall from our neighbor’s tree, looks for garbage, and then continues along his path through the woods behind our houses.

As a parent with two small children running around the yard it is easy to think the worst about a bear that comes around unannounced. My wife and I have heard a story of a bear running off with an infant off of a front porch. We’ve silently wondered if that’s an old wives tale to remind parents to watch their children. Tale or truth, the story comes with parental advice about tending to your children. It innately comes with the territory. However, choosing to listen or not is up to us.

It got me thinking about the Innate of bears. Do they view humans as animals to be feared or respected? Do they simply see lunch? I think it is the former personally. Realized fear can be lead to learning and change. Sympathetic fear typically leads to worry and inaction.

We’ve taught our kids about bears and what to do if they see one walking through the yard. Like with all things, living innately means you are aware of your feelings and surrounds, but don’t let them control you. It’s about understanding the signals your life is sending you. Like an animal in the wild, if a feeling of fear pops up, it is likely because there is danger. It is time to take action. In this instance it isn’t the bear that is to be feared, it is our lack of understanding of ourselves and inaction if we choose to ignore it.