Dateline Calgary: A Siberian Tiger mauled a man after he and a friend scaled the fence of the Calgary Zoo and pressed up against the tiger cage. A zoo official stated that "There is no indication that the offender was involved in anything other than just being silly". Silly? That is one way to describe the person's behavior, however, it is not a word that bubbled to the top of my mind. How about reckless, idiotic, insane, or moronic? The man was expected to live and fully recover, but was still in very serious condition at the hospital. Am I supposed to feel sorry for this person? Do you think that after he scaled the 8-ft-high zoo fence with a foot of barbed wire across the top that he is feeling litigious toward the zoo or the tiger? Do you think he is looking to point the finger of blame at everyone but himself. In my experience, this very much seems to be the case. Nobody seems to stand up and accept responsibility for their actions or behaviors, no matter how imbecilic they may be. Do you expect there to be any tone of contrition in the man? How many would bet that alcohol or some other drug was involved in the hours leading up to his "adventure"? I sure would hate to have to live this episode down for the rest of my life. According to Andy Stanley in his book The Principle of the Path, our path determines our destination. I hope that the man laying in the hospital bed battered and severely injured because of his decisions will learn an important lesson from this incident. I hope and pray that I too will think about where I will arrive with some of the choices that I make in my own imperfect life.
