“The determination to know a particular place, in my experience, is consistently rewarded. And every natural place, to my mind, is open to being known. And somewhere in this process a person begins to sense that they themselves are becoming known, so that when they are absent from that place they know that place misses them. And this reciprocity, to know and be known, reinforces a sense that one is necessary in this world.

Perhaps the first rule of everything we endeavor to do is to pay attention. Perhaps the second is to be patient. And perhaps a third is to be attentive to what the body knows … . The moment is an invitation, and the bear’s invitation to participate is offered, without prejudice, to anyone passing by.”

— Barry Lopez, 1945-2020 (from his posthumously published “Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World”)