Take a Hike

It’s been our weekend tradition for the past few years that regardless of weather, the $15,000 golden dog and I venture out into the woods for some contemplation and solitude amongst the maples and ash and evergreen and holly.

Last weekend was no different, and the wee yellow bitch and I set forth on another mid woods adventure. This moon goddess has a knack for finding the trails that are a) full of ticks, b) under construction or otherwise prohibited and c) complete mud pits. We ventured on all three, and at about 45 minutes in, she stopped and sat.

I took this as her cue that the 75° shaded woodland landscape was too hot for her furry frame, and got her water out of my backpack to hydrate her, and my own for myself.

Now for anyone who has met Luna, you know that she is the dog with the heaviest chi. And when I say heavy, what I mean is that when she does not want to move, she has the ability to increase the effects of gravity on her 45 lb frame to the extent that it is impossible to remove her from the ground. You cannot pull, push, pick up, coax or move her by any other means, and she will only move when she damn well feels like it again.

So we stayed in a section near the pond for approximately 25 minutes while she rolled around on the ground and encouraged ticks to hop a ride on her yellow school bus. In that time, I saw a small snake slither into the water, a red eared slider poking his head above the water, and a crop of wild blueberry bushes. Any of these things I may not have had the pleasure of observing if I had not stopped with her, and I realized I had been more worried about completing the hike rather than taking it.

And how much of our existence are our actions are motivated by our past or what might come next? It is okay to be present with what is happening. It is okay to breathe and find calm awareness regardless of circumstances. Sometimes it takes someone else (in this case, my four legged bestie) to show us the way. And what we discover are things that we never would have before had we not stopped.

So take a hike. And just stop.