“We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours.” – Dag Hammarskjold
Life can feel like a jungle at times. The more we go through it, sometimes the wilder it gets. While it’s not wild in the sense of crazy animals coming after you. It seems like there is always something to deal with in all parts of life. Life is wild in that way. There is no part of life that is peaceful. What I have found most beneficial in the last few years is finding time to pause. I have to look for opportunities to stop and reflect. Before the days of instant news and information, you might not hear about anything for weeks. Sometimes, it could even be months or years. I thought of this yesterday while reading my book. It was about how long it took someone to get information in the early 1800’s. For us, it seems so unreal that you might not hear about something important for a year or more. Humanity used to have time to pause, and our society has taken it away. We have to find times to pause in life. It can be through reading a good book, taking a walk, exercise, spending time with family and friends. We have to find time to pause in this jungle called life.
I captured these photos and many more when we visited Icy Strait Point. When we planned the trip, I didn’t realize I would be visiting a rainforest. Alaska is home to the largest temperate rainforest in the world, the Tongass National Forest. This vast rainforest stretches along the coast of Southeast and Southcentral Alaska. It receives significant rainfall and boasts a unique, mild climate compared to other parts of the state. On average, the area gets around 200 inches of rain per year. Compare that to where I live in Charlotte, North Carolina, which gets 42 inches of rain a year. This area is home to the Sitka spruce trees that can grow over 200 feet tall. The rainforest supports a wide array of wildlife. These include brown bears, wolves, salmon, and bald eagles.
Through Griffin's Lens 