Morning
I’ve started a new ritual in the mornings.
Every morning after feeding the chooks and the horses, the canine crew and I head out for our pre-breakfast walk, usually next door.
We go under and over fences. Heading towards the little forest. I have tracks around and through this space. Sometimes we follow these trails. Sometimes we follow a kangaroo trail through the ferns.
On the other side of this treed area we break out into a clearing and stand in the sunlight. The little hill looks to the south west.
I look into the distance and I ask myself “How are you feeling today?”
Today I reply “I feel okay.”
Tomorrow it may be: “I feel content today” or “I feel happy today” or “it’s a crap day today”.
I want to register my mental state. Make a note of it.
This day when I stop I have two dogs beside me.
They wait and watch, waiting for me to give the signal as to which direction we’re going to move in. The others are sniffing at a rabbit burrow.
In the distance, down the hill, I can see my cows quietly grazing in the lush grass.
To my left, I see a couple of wood ducks sitting on the hill. Beautiful colors of the male. He with his mate. He calls out having seen us there.
Over the boundary fence are a mob of young cattle. They have seen the dogs and decided they must move away from us. They charge off in the opposite direction. A gang of black.
I realize almost instantly that it’s a combination of being surrounded by nature and animals and the brilliant fresh air that I appreciate so much.
The quiet. The stillness. It makes me feel happy. It is what brings contentment into my world.
I inhale. I breathe. I shut my eyes and breathe it in.
I cannot imagine a life without it now.
I cannot imagine getting up in the morning and being faced with a sea of people. Concrete. Noise. Traffic.
When I lived and worked in the big city I used to catch the train to work each day. Crammed in. Faceless. Friendless. Completely disengaged.
I remember reflecting that we were like a swarm of ants. All leaving the nest, heading off together in a line, heading off in a mad rush to work. Nameless. Smileless. Bored. Unhappy. An army of people all doing different things but still the same.
Now here I am standing alone on a hill. I am looking out at an extinct volcano in that direction. A mountain range over there. The blue sky above. Magpies and cockatoos in the trees. I feel the sun on my back.
The dogs are still behind me, waiting.
I am grateful for it all.
And today I am okay.