I absolutely love otters. I remember as a kid watching Disney stories on Sundays and one particular episode showed a family that had two river otters that played and created havoc throughout the house.

Any time I visit a zoo, I immediately look on the map to see if they have an otter area. I finally got to see an otter up close and personal for the first time this past summer. Robert took this picture of a sea otter and every time I look at it, it makes me smile. It makes me feel instantly calm because it looks like this otter is meditating.

Why do I like otters so much? Because they are always playful and mischievous. To me, otters exude joy. They act as if they have no cares in the world.

As Christians, we are also supposed to exude joy. Jesus says in John 15:11 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

I love animals, so I am always interested in watching animal documentaries. One documentary talked about animal behavior. I had never given it much thought but man is the only animal that worries and dwells on an event. No other animal does that.

Take for example, an antelope living in Africa. It’s quietly eating grass when a lion comes out of no where. It panics and jumps into survival mode and takes off running. The lion pursues it with all of its power, but the antelope leaps over a stream and careens through some dense trees and the lion halts its pursuit.

What does the antelope do next? It goes back to finishing its lunch like nothing ever happened.

As humans, what would we do? We’d be replaying the entire event over in our heads. We’d be looking around every corner wondering if the lion was coming back. We’d be telling anyone who would listen about this experience.

While I am not wising to be an otter or an antelope, I would like to be able to adopt a trait of living more in the present moment – not dwelling on the past and not fretting about the future, but just being and being filled with joy.

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