Tag Archives: powers of observation

STEPPING STONES TO HEALING- A JOURNEY THROUGH SOUTH VALLEY PARK

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Photograph of South Valley Park – Copyright Cynthia Fain – taken in 2007

The odyssey of my healing commenced with my mother’s triumphant survival
over a life-threatening health ordeal in March 1990. Buried in the tapestry of
my memories, was a magical place called South Valley Park. It seemed like
another lifetime when I rode my bike around the park’s ponds during my
melancholy high school years.

After my mother returned home from the hospital in April 1990, a fresh
chapter of exploration unfolded within the serenity of South Valley Park. As I
descended the hill, on a balmy spring afternoon, a cascade of emotions engulfed
me.  In the distance, the reflective canvas of Walkers Pond glistened with ripples of water. The pond was bordered by lush woodland, and a whimsical creek which gracefully
wound its way through the heart of the park.

Finding places of healing is profoundly important for us all, especially
during these times of so much stress. Nature provides a solace, and we need to
prioritize preserving as much of our natural resources as possible. With people
spending so much time in frustrating traffic and sitting in offices with
technology, getting out into nature is vital to our mental and physical health.

In the months and years after my mother’s recovery, South Valley Park became
my daily ritual. In this place of tranquility, time seemed to slow, and the
park, became not just a destination but a journey through family memories and
exciting new vistas.

I encourage people to find respectful and compassionate relationships with
nature. As a frequent visitor to South Valley Park I became a protective
guardian of the creatures there. Sadly, people left fishing line and hooks in
the ponds, which resulted in deaths and injuries to waterfowl and turtles. When
injured wildlife was spotted, our wildlife rescue team (including myself) sprang
into action, and rushed the ailing waterfowl or turtle to our local licensed
wildlife rehabilitator.

In my role as a guardian of the park, I forged connections with a myriad of
its inhabitants, and among them, Mr. Drake stood out—a flightless duck that
made the Theater Pond his home. Defying the odds, he navigated the waters, a
courageous survivor without the sanctuary of a protective island. Vulnerable to
potential threats from predators or untethered dogs his resilience struck a
chord within me. This unique bond blossomed into a friendship that later became
a wellspring of inspiration for my first book, “Mystical Animals of
Ancient Oak.”

The enchanted hour preceding sunset was my favorite time for a walk, when
the very soul of nature awoke, serenaded by the chorus of birds bidding farewell
to the day’s dwindling sunlight. Weaving between the pond and the creek was an
invitation to embark on a twilight journey. After thunderstorms, I ran to the
bridge straddling the creek, and felt the powerful water racing under me.

During a torrential storm, a helpless duckling struggled to stay afloat in
the currents of the creek. Peeping loudly and fighting against the rushing
water, he looked close to drowning. I wasted no time calling a friend of mine
that worked for the Department of Natural Resources and he quickly rushed to
the park. Using a net, the duckling was rescued from the perilous creek, and
placed in the pond with a mother duck and her brood. I thanked Curt for taking
time to come out and help an animal in need.

Passionate about being a park protector, I joined the Montgomery Village
Environment Committee in the early 1990’s. As a member of this important
committee we did water quality monitoring and voted on many important
environmental issues. My years on this committee and walks at the park were one
of the most important things I have ever undertaken. Being a part of your
community, whether it is parks, schools or other charitable work is incredibly
important. It gets you out of isolation and feeling detached, and you can
contribute to a good cause.

Adventure out into nature with compassion and awareness, and always look for
nature to teach you and heal you. I pray that places like South Valley Park
will remain protected from harm for eternity. I still walk the park, looking
for inspiration and communing with the ducks, birds, and all of nature.

Copyright – December 2023 – Cynthia A. Fain

Part Two – Powers of Observation

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I will continue to discuss the subject of Powers of Observation. Our tendency to accept animal  fatalities on our roads as a normal by product of our daily, busy lives, is truly sad. This is something that gets so little attention, but we need to take responsibility for taking time to learn how to avoid hitting wildlife, and of course human pedestrians. I believe that most of this could be avoided by making it a priority to slow down and concentrate on driving. We are way too distracted and anxious today. I have attended many civic organization and environmental meetings over the last two decades. Listening to most of the people who come to these meetings you would think that deer are being singled out as being all wrong, way too many of them, and they need to be eradicated. If these groups adhered to the concept of Powers of Observation – these people and organizations would honor what the deer have to go through in order to live among the human chaos. Instead, most of what I have heard over the year’s when attending meetings is that the deer are nothing but a nuisance. I differ with that, and believe they might think we are a nuisance to them. What I would suggest, is that if we had developed our cities and suburbs with a far more holistic, humane, compassionate and ecologically balanced view, all the wildlife, including deer, would have their travel ways, their habitat and their way of life honored. Instead, what we have ended up with is severe loss of forest habitat, massive forest fragmentation, killing off of large predators such as mountain lions, severely degraded watersheds, way too much impervious surface etc. Furthermore, we totally forgot to included wildlife in our traffic plans. Can you imagine being a deer or other wild animal and ending up having your habitat totally paved over, and then have to cross a mega highway? Well, that is the mess our wildlife face. So when I hear about all the outrage about deer, I say well what the heck did we ever do to honor them to begin with? We absolutely must get back to a far more compassionate and responsible way of living on the planet. I believe that much of what is blamed on the deer is just a severe reflection of what humanity is doing to the ecosystem. I have a homework assignment for anyone reading this blog. The next time you get angry at a deer or some other wild animal – walk in their shoes! Start a journal and see what it would be like to become that animal for a day or a week. Keep a list of all the things you see that animal having to go through to manage around traffic, people etc. As I have written in previous journal entries – I have been a long time member of both the civic, and environmental movement, but I hold very different views about deer and other wildlife issues. And I strongly believe we way over persecute deer instead of honoring them. I always see the environmental and civic groups holding “deer forums”. In all these cases there is usually nothing but a forum for people to continue blaming deer and not seeing what the deeper ills are. Deer don’t always cause car  accidents. We cause an enormous amount of these deer auto collisions. And I have written a paper based on my own experiences and this paper teaches people how to avoid hitting wildlife. I am 53 years old and have never hit a deer. and that folks is not an accident. It is entirely due to SLOWING DOWN and honoring life. Folks, it works. SLOW DOWN and RESPECT LIFE. In my next blog entry I will discuss many of the things that are typically blamed on deer and how we need to re-frame this view. We will discuss the concept of promoting and using non violence to deal with deer issues.