Source September 14, 2015
My #GoodNewsSharing is a story about wolves. I’ve had a love of wolves for as long as I can remember. They are majestic and beautiful and their pack loyalty is something we could all aspire to. Wolves and their place in our world is a very intricate and necessary part of our planet’s ecosystem (if you have not already seen this footage, look up How Wolves Changed Rivers on YouTube and see how wolves do just that). The “lone wolf” story is a myth as is the “Big Bad Wolf”. Wolves are not one bit as scary as the fairytales would have us believe. I often wonder if those myths did not exist if we would be so afraid of them? In fact, wolves are more frightened of us humans than threatening to us.
Follow Your Heart – The Path Is Mapped For You…
In my 20s, I worked at Natural Wonders, a nature store that sold all kinds of things like telescopes, gemstones, geodes and fossil replicas, camping supplies, nature photography coffee table books and documentaries, etc. We carried an amazing book: “Brother Wolf” and poster prints by world renown National Geographic photographer Jim Brandenburg. I fell in love with Jim’s work with wolves as did I with Jim and Jamie Dutcher’s “Living With Wolves”. My dream was to work with wolves, I even thought for a bit about pursuing it as a career. When I moved to Los Angeles over sixteen years ago I started volunteering at the Wildlife Waystation in hopes to someday be able to volunteer my way up and work with their rescue wolves. Unfortunately it didn’t happen, but I did not give up hope. Several years ago, a friend of mine told me about Teo Alfero who runs Wolf Connection; an organization that rescues wolf-dogs and uses them in their educational, outreach programs and work with at risk youth. At the time I was working on a personal documentary and my friend threw out the suggestion that I do a documentary on Wolf Connection. I loved the idea of a documentary on them, but I did not plan on making it myself. I did know I wanted to learn more about their organization and meet their wolf-dog rescues. It took a few years to get there, but as fortune would have it, a friend told me about an Animal Communication workshop fundraiser that was taking place at Wolf Connection and I signed up immediately. While there I learned about Wolf Connections amazing programs and that Wolf Connection also has monthly hikes with the wolf dogs.
When The Timing Is Right…
Following the workshop I brought some friends for one of Wolf Connection’s monthly hikes and potluck dinners. That day it just so happened that Teo introduced a woman, Julia Huffman, who was there filming for a documentary about wolves. Julia stood up and talked about her documentary Medicine of the Wolf and mentioned that James Taylor gave her music to use in her film. My ears perked up because she was talking about two things I love: Wolves and Music!
What Do You Want To Do With Your Life?….
When you’re trying to figure out ‘what to do with your life’ I think you should ask yourself: What could I see myself doing even if I wasn’t paid for it? i.e. What do you love to do?
I could answer that question with ease. Music and Animals. I wasn’t a musician, but I loved being around music – somehow I always found myself drawn to musicians and music as a form of expression. I wasn’t determined to follow the educational path to be able to work with animals in some field of science, but I felt that if I could do one or the other (even if it was unpaid) I would be happy. So I thought why not find a job in music and volunteer with animals?
Remember The Path Is Mapped For You…
I moved to Los Angeles with the intention of finding a job in the music industry. I moved here thinking I’d get into A&R and ended up working in the sofware industry for almost 2 years until I was laid off. After I lost my job I realized it was time to start looking for work in music and after a temp job, and some word of mouth networking, I fell into music for film & television through music supervision and music clearance. Almost fourteen years later, I have been fortunate to work on many interesting films and television programs. But the one thing I love the most is using my skills in service to animal advocacy documentaries. When I heard that Julia was working on her documentary film about wolves I knew I must speak to her and see if I could be of service. So that day at Wolf Connection, after our hike, I found Julia and introduced myself. I asked her if she needed any help with music clearance for her film. She threw her head back laughing and said that was exactly what she needed! I was able to help her get music from James Taylor, Moby, A.A. Bondy, Piano Magic and Louise Du Toit!
Your Desires May Show Up In A Package You Didn’t Expect…
Putting the pieces of the puzzle together from my job at Natural Wonders, to love of wolves and my introduction to the photography and documentary work of Jim Brandenburg, to Wolf Connection, to music supervision and my intrduction to the director Julia Huffman and her documentary Medicine of the Wolf all ultimately leads me to the joy and being of service.
I’m humbled to have worked with the talented and passionate Julia Huffman and be a part of such a beautiful wolf advocacy film. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, please join us for the premiere ofMedicine of the Wolf at G2 Gallery’s 2015 Green Earth Film Festival in Venice, CA this October. Keep an eye on the calendar for more details on time and date!
TALES OF SEPTEMBER: D A Y T H I R T E E N : #GoodNewsSharing via @dena.clayton.771 via@toris_tales #talesofseptember Check out what #GoodNewsSharing is all about over on @dena.clayton.771s profile!
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Wolf Is My Soul 