DisneyNature & Earth Day
Yesterday was Earth Day, Good Friday, and the first day of freedom after finals. Thankfully the weather sensed the ecstasy in the air and responded accordingly. Warm sunlight and gentle floating clouds drifted through the sky. I went on a bike ride, worked with horses up at Mountain Horse Medical Center, and watched DisneyNature’s African Cats. The day couldn’t have been better.
I found it beautifully appropriate that Spring waited until this joyous day to come forth. The trees refused to blossom until classes were out, and the weather wouldn’t cooperate fully until we were liberated from the tyrannies of the classroom. I felt uplifted, inspired by the beauties around me. The sun illuminated the world below in her brightest and fullest colors. The Stream and Trail south of campus, Provo Canyon, and even the eyes of a stabled recovering horse all seemed to glow with the celebration of the world they are a part of.
Emily Dickinson’s poem High From the Earth, I Heard a Bird seemed to be reflective of the general mood of the day:
High from the earth I heard a bird,
He trod upon the trees
As he esteemed them trifles,
And then he spied a breeze,
And situated softly
Upon a pile of wind
Which in a perturbation
Nature had left behind.
A joyous going fellow
I gathered from his talk
Which both of benediction
And badinage partook.
Without apparent burden
I subsequently learned
He was the faithful father
Of a dependent brood.
And this untoward transport
His remedy for care.
A contrast to our respites.
How different we are!
He trod upon the trees
As he esteemed them trifles,
And then he spied a breeze,
And situated softly
Upon a pile of wind
Which in a perturbation
Nature had left behind.
A joyous going fellow
I gathered from his talk
Which both of benediction
And badinage partook.
Without apparent burden
I subsequently learned
He was the faithful father
Of a dependent brood.
And this untoward transport
His remedy for care.
A contrast to our respites.
How different we are!
I felt wonderful. Here on this day we were celebrating the sufferings of our Savior for our sins, the beauty of the natural world around us, and the triumph over another semester of academia. What could possibly make this day better? Trying to make a difference in the world.
Since its inception, I have made it a tradition to see the DisneyNature film of the year each Earth Day. Two years ago DisneyNature produced Earth, a celebration of life that followed the families of a polar bear, a humpback whale, and an African elephant. Last year Oceans debuted and celebrated the beauties of the seas. Each year, a portion of the ticket price for each ticket purchased opening week is donated to making the earth a better place. Earth resulted in the planting of thousands of trees, and Oceans made a substantial donation to the Bahamas Reef Foundation.
This year the film African Cats follows the exploits of a lion pride and a cheetah family. In my opinion it is the most beautiful of the three films so far. The filming is incredible, the narration though clearly anthropomorphized is touching and captivating. African Cats captures the dangers and beauties of birth, life, and death on the African Savannah. Each ticket purchased this year goes to helping the African Wildlife Foundation protect the Amboseli Wildlife Corridor – the migratory route of large herds and the predators that trail them between the Amboseli National Park and the Chyulu and Tsavo West National Parks.
If you weren’t able to see it on Earth Day, or if Earth Day went by uncelebrated, take a chance to go see it now. You can make a difference in this world and the best part is you get to be entertained and amazed while you’re doing it.
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