I
went back to the meadow two days ago, and this time I brought my dog along. Her
name's KD, she's a beagle, she's hilarious. Usually, when I bring my dog along
for walks, I'll get mad at her because she's so pokey, and more often than not
has her own idea about where she wants to go and will run off somewhere on her
own and we'll "lose her" until she decides to come back home. That
afternoon though, I watched her as we walked along, and of course she was being
her usual pokey self, but as I watched her it seemed like she was looking for
something, or looking intently, and closely at everything around her. I was
kind of jealous. She was just immersing herself in the world around her, giving
everything a closer look and really taking her time. Maybe she was looking for
something. Maybe her dog's keen sense of smell tipped her off that something
was nearby. Whatever the reason though, I was inspired. I wanted to slow down,
and immerse myself in my surroundings taking the time to look at everything surrounding
me. At first when I finally got to my exact spot, I sat down and though “What
the hell am I going to focus on? There’s grass, and weeds, and plants, sun and
sky.” But then immediately I was like “Well isn’t that enough?” So I went over
towards the edge of the clearing where the jagger bushes (I’m from Pittsburgh
sorry), Goldenrod, and other things I’m still working on identifying, form
weedy walls to my little spot and stared within those walls. I noticed how the
tops of the plants were so bursting with color and seemed to be full of life,
but towards the bottom they seemed dead. When I peered through all of the dead
stems though, I saw movement-a rabbit! Which apparently maybe obviously my dog
saw too and she was off into the mini forest.
So
then I was alone and I sat back in the grass, and decided to give that a closer
look. As I probably mentioned in my last post, the grass here is thick and
rough, and almost hard. But I didn’t want to pull at it, or rip any of it out.
(Honestly, I’m usually pretty careless about these things and not very mindful
of things like that) so I carefully tried to part it and got down to the dirt.
At
first I was kind of taken aback when I got to the dirt, because it was really
hard and dusty so going back to thinking about the greenhouse I though “Seriously,
how did papa grow anything good here let alone bunches of beautiful plants?”
But I dug a little bit with my finger and got past the dry dirt and into the
rich soil and was pleased.
Looking
back, this should have been something obvious to me that obviously the dirt on
top is going to be dry and “dusty” and that of course if weeds, trees, and
other plants can thrive here-other things should be able to as well.
I think sometimes we forget the basics
of things, or overlook the obvious and simple things because we're so used to things being so complicated anymore. It's nice though to have those little reminders.
I liked how you took your dog with you and observed her and how she experiences the world- very carefully and concentrated. I think it's beautiful to watch an animal experience the world, because their view is so different from ours. I wonder what they see; I wish they could tell us. You structured this post wonderfully, starting out with your dog and going back toyou and then connecting it back to the real reason why this spot is so special to you.
ReplyDeleteI loved the line, "But then immediately I was like 'Well isn’t that enough?'" Sometimes I brush over nature, and even the mundane details in life, and I just appreciated you drawing attention to those moments: to the grass, the sky, the trees. "Isn't that enough?" You carried me along with your progression of this idea, ending with: "I think sometimes we forget the basics of things, or overlook the obvious and simple things because we're so used to things being so complicated anymore." Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteI love how you brought your dog along this time. As I mentioned a million times before, I have a Chihuahua, and he absolutely loves taking walks in the park, especially the one I am writing my blog on. I would get annoyed sometimes because it would take us an hour to walk around the lake because he would sniff everything. However, your post reminded me that I could learn a lot about staying in the present moment from watching my dog. My dog is focused on his surroundings, the sights, sounds, smells. I know I can think of a million things I have to do while I walk around the lake, instead of just enjoying the moment and shutting my mind off.
ReplyDeleteWe humans can learn a lot - as you've illustrated well here - from trying to see the world through our dogs' eyes. You might actually like to read a whole book about that very thing, written by one of the Chatham affiliated faculty, Kate Miles: Adventures with Ari (can't remember how to put multiple html tags in, so the Amazon link is here
ReplyDeleteI'm reading it now and am really enjoying her attempt to learn the natural world through the lens of what her dog has to teach her.
"...as I watched her it seemed like she was looking for something, or looking intently, and closely at everything around her": there's that poetic rhythm! Like Anna, I also loved the "Well, isn't that enough?" question. Also, the "a rabbit!" felt so much like the end of "The Armadillo" by Liz Bishop. Intentional?
ReplyDelete