I have a T-shirt given to me by my partner-in-life as a joke that has Elk-a-holic printed on the front. Until two years ago, I never knew this about myself, but it turns out that I can sit for hours and watch elk graze and chew and wander from one side of the meadow to the other. I guess this use of precious time is a bit excessive in our fast-paced, driven world, but something about seeing them in their natural environment gives me a sense of peace.

I never gave elk a thought until I moved to Colorado. Of course that’s probably because I had never crossed paths with an elk before coming here. But now I see them all the time, sometimes hundreds at a time.

To support my elk-a-holism, I have attended nature talks on elk behavior and been the recipient of all sorts of trivia facts about elk. For instance, did you know the antlers of a bull elk can hold up to ten bowling balls on each side? Of course it concerns me how experts know this.

In the service of my addiction, I have also been reprimanded by a park ranger when I got a little too close in my viewing practices. (My closest scrape with law enforcement so far.)

Not to mention that one of my fondest memories to date is of having to stop for an impromptu elk herd crossing while hiking.

Perhaps we all have things we could learn from the “wild” among us. In my more philosophical moments, I wonder if elk have entered my consciousness because they have something to teach me about how to be in the present moment. As far as I know, elk don’t dwell on the past or question themselves about their future. They don’t have an agenda to make money or strive for excellence. Nor do they worry about gas prices or the crisis on Wall Street or how the current election will turn out.  They simple are…elk.