Joy in Nature: 6 Lessons from Walter Gator

Lately I've been trying to start a ritual of journaling more regularly over my first cup of coffee in the morning.  Ever since reading The Artist's Way the idea of writing morning pages intrigued me as a great way to break up the log jam of thoughts muddled in my head when I woke up each day.  I've even found a great spot for this morning "brain dump" during weekdays on the dock behind the office building where I work.  One morning recently I was pleasantly surprised by some spontaneous observations.

Meet my new friend Walter Gator.  This is the nick name I've given one of the mascots currently residing in the retention pond behind my office building.  One morning as I was writing my morning pages I noticed out of the corner of my eye a movement in the water that made me put down my pen and just stare.  There Walter was, just quietly submerged except for the top of his head sticking out of the water quietly looking back at me.  I was simply awestruck seeing such an impressive animal in the wild that close.  Upon reflection, I see Walter taught me a few lessons about joy too.

Sometimes Joy Just Shows Up
Walter moved in the water just enough to catch my eye.  I wasn't looking for him at all.  In fact, I was completely focused on something else.  That made me think of the many times in my life when something that made me the happiest showed up when I wasn't specifically looking for it and was content keeping my usual routines.


Sometimes Joy Takes Unexpected Forms
I'm not particularly a fan of alligators.  After all, I'm originally from Tennessee and it's a challenge to show your Volunteer Pride deep from the heart of Florida Gator country and not catch grief.  For some reason though, I couldn't help but smiling after my encounter with Walter Gator.  I guess not all gators are bad.  :-)


Joy Brings Calm

This particular morning started out in the usual way... a to-do list a mile long waited for me to tackle and even more demands were on their way to my in-box.  The stress and tension had already built up on my commute in to work and I was overwhelmed of where to even start for the day.  As soon as I saw Walter Gator though, I stopped what I was doing.  He captured my attention and I was completely mesmerized.  Before I knew it, ten whole minutes had passed by and I realized I had just been sitting still as I stared at him.  My breathing had automatically slowed and become less shallow.  There was a quietness in the air that was so peaceful.  Walter Gator had easily calmed me.
 
More Joy Lies Beneath the Surface

I only saw Walter Gator's full body silhouette the first time I saw him out of the corner of my eye.  The rest of the time he floated still in the water with just his head above the surface.  The water was just clear enough that I could see there was more to him than just the prehistoric head peeking up at me.

Experiencing Joy Makes You Want to Share

I was the only person sitting on the dock when Walter Gator decided to come swim so close.  My first reaction was to instantaneously get up and go to the railing to watch him.  The second reaction was to look around me and see if anyone was standing outside of the building that may have wanted a closer look.  My third reaction was to pull out my cell phone and start snapping pictures.  I sent my husband texts about my visitor and sent posts to my friends on Facebook.  Finally another employee came up beside me on the dock and we had a great conversation about Walter Gator.  And when it was time for me to go back inside and get to work, I had to pull out the pictures and show my boss and co-workers too.  Walter Gator really was something to see and I just wanted everyone else to share the joy too.

One Joy is Often Near Even Larger Joy

You can see from these pictures that Walter Gator isn't an extremely large alligator.  I estimate he was probably about 5-6 feet long from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail.  As I was sharing my joy with my co-workers I quickly heard there had been sightings the previous day of an even larger alligator in the pond.  In my tenure with my company I've heard all sorts of tales about gators in the pond and some of them having to be carried away when they got too large.  All great stories and hearsay are keeping me on the lookout for Walter Gator's larger siblings out there!

So, it's not every day I have an alligator swim up beside me and just hang out for a while.  He definitely brought a smile to my face and calmness to my heart.

I'd love to hear your stories about what you've seen in nature that really brought you joy.