Loud Apes and a Lazy Bear

There are two times of the year I like to visit the zoo.  The first is during the summer in the middle of the week. While it might be hot, the crowds are not too bad.  I am able to check out all the exhibits, take pictures and enjoy all parts without either being in someone’s way or someone who is in my way.  Another time I like to visit is when the weather is colder. Many of the animals who originate in cold regions are not active when it is hot outside.  Several of the animals hide in the shade or stay in their cave where you cannot see them. Cooler weather also means you don’t sweat to death from the hot temperatures. Sometimes I can combine my two favorite times to visit during my winter break, and that happened a few days after Christmas.  The kids and I hopped in the truck, and drove to Riverbank Zoo in Columbia, SC. One thing I enjoy about this zoo in particular is it not too large, and you can see everything with a couple of mile walk.

                                     

You walk into the zoo you will typically hear an animal yelling at the top of its lung.  You want to call them howler monkeys, but they are actually called siamangs. They make their loud sounds using these large gular sacs that allows them to make their loud calls.  They are a social animal, and use these sounds to communicate and to make sure the other knows to stay away from its territory. Of course I had to take a moment and get a picture of them yelling at each other.

                                     

Near this exhibit is an animal doing the opposite of what the siamangs are doing, the grizzly bears.  Unlike the siamangs, they are lying around. The last time we saw these bears, they were fighting. I thought I would only see  brawl like this on Animal Planet. On this visit they are just lying around and chilling out. I asked the zoo keeper if they are hibernating, and she said they kind of are. The weather is warmer in South Carolina than where they are from they are still somewhat active this time of the year.  They move when they are hungry or it is warmer. She told me they are not hibernating they are just lazy bears.

Once I finished editing the picture I had a hard time thinking about what to write about them.  I was reading my devotional, and it was talking about anger. It discussed how anger itself is not a sin.  Too often we say anger is wrong, but there are things in life we should be angry about. We see injustices happening all over our world, and the natural response is to be angry.  People say things to us that are offensive or rude, and it makes us angry. Anger is natural, but what you do with the anger is what can cause you to make mistakes. Looking at how these two animals are at the zoo made me think of the two basic ways we respond to anger.  One is the most thought about, and it is showing your anger, like siamang who is yelling. The other is doing nothing when you are angry, like the grizzly bear just lying around. Those responses are not necessarily bad, but it is what you do when you are responding.

If you the are siamangs, you typically make sure that everyone knows you are angry.  It is wrong if you say hurtful things while you are angry. Hurtful words cannot be taken back.  Trust me from experience, I have said many things I wished I had not ever spoken while I was angry. However, sharing that you are unhappy with a situation is not a bad thing.  How do others know you are unsatisfied with something if you do not say anything? More than likely they don’t. However, when you see an injustice or someone has wronged you, we should always choose our words carefully.  There is a high risk of our point not getting across if we are not careful. People won’t hear our point, they will only hear the anger. People are tempted to only hear what they want too, so we have to make sure we focus on sharing the main reason why we are upset.  We might have to be like the bear, and sit on it for a while before we speak our minds.

Some of us make our angry show with our silence.  This can be a powerful tool. I’ve noticed my fifth graders tend to panic when I stop, and stay silent for several moments.  Sometimes this is more impactful than saying voices off 100 times. Sometimes by staying silent at the time allows us to choose our words carefully in order for them to have more power.  There is a flip side to this however. If we sit in silence and stay silent, nothing changes. The thing that caused us to be silent hasn’t changed, and the issue is still present. Often we see things happening in the world, and know that something needs to change.  Often we see an outrage, and what is followed with is silence. If we see something that makes us angry, then we need to speak our minds with action.

Anger is a natural response.  What we do with determines if it is for good or evil.  Anger is not excuse for doing the wrong thing. We have to choose our words and actions carefully to have the highest impact with others.