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Health & Fitness

George Harrison, A Beatle and a Beaver

George Harrison's music and life and a Beaver in mourning are more related that you might think.

In 2011, Martin Scorsese released Living in the Material World, a two-part documentary for HBO chronicling the life and music of George Harrison.

If you grew up loving the Beatles and their music, and George was your favorite Beatle but you weren't sure why, this is the story for you. A chronicle of his life, his music, his friends, family and beliefs reveals the person George Harrison was.  An exceptional song writing talent and performer, he was at the same time a humble person, not wanting to be in the limelight, not wanting awards, and wanting to continue to live his life, including the connection to India and Bangladesh.

The documentary also reveals that Harrison seemed to want to stay pretty close to Nature and received inspiration for his music from the rising sun, the setting sun, the sea and other gifts of nature. Jackie Stewart, the British race car driver who became a close friend of Harrison's, also described him as having many friends and being a giving person. He had a way of making each friend feel special and cared for - because that is how he wanted to lead his individual life.

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This snippet of description from the documentary doesn't describe the breadth of the story as it unfolds to the point of Harrison's death. It's out on DVD and available from a variety of sources. Recommended for nature and music lovers who resonated with songs like "Here Comes the Sun," "My Sweet Lord," "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)," and the Traveling Wilburys releases like "Handle With Care." 

How George Harrison, his music and life path relate to a Beaver is not a stretch at all. At a recent presentation by Sonoma Birding and Regional Parks in Sonoma by Bernie Krause of Wild Sanctuary Communications and also recently shared by Worth a Dam, the Martinez Beavers' protectors, a moving and disturbing audio recording of a Beaver was shared. A lone beaver who lost its family, kits and mom, swam at night reportedly in circles around the lost dam and family, its sounds recorded, after the US Fish and Wildlife Service blew up a dam - with living beavers in it - and killed them and destroyed the dam. 

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If you choose to listen, please be prepared. This is a powerful natural sound.  It will not leave you easily - and could very well touch your soul. It could be relevant for reflective thought, though. Musicians like George Harrison lived their lives in a certain way, made music and had fun making it, with friendship and not harming others. The sounds of the natural world we can appreciate, living more informed lives, can be inspirations for music, appreciation of nature, and inspiring sounds from nature to help make music. 

Worth A Dam in Martinez helped implement a flow device under a beaver dam in Martinez to allow water flow under the dam and protect the beaver habitat. Here in Sonoma County, Brock Dolman of Occidental Arts & Ecology Center is leading observation and monitoring for beaver presence in our Sonoma County waterways, educating about the benefits to ecosystems of beavers and beaver dams. Beavers' habitat attracts and supports multiple birds and other species and ponds created near a dam are attractants for coho salmon and steelhead trout.

The sounds and music of Nature and George Harrison's inspired work, juxtaposed to the sound of the grieving Beaver father really make me think we humans are capable of higher level thinking and actions - care for the natural world - and the ablity to receive inspiration from that. It seems a much more peaceful and productive way to live. Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun" seems a good theme song for this path.

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