Day: September 19, 2013

Went with Red to see Dr. Colleen Flaherty at the Cambridge Valley Veterinary Clinic for his first acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture is growing increasingly popular with animal lovers as a means of treating illness, pain, behavioral problems and stress. I always think it’s a bit ironic that people are turning to Asian medicine for dogs when they eat dogs in most of Asia, they do not bring them into bed.

I was curious to see how this treatment affected Red. The first treatment cost $120 – evaluation, questionnaire, and then the treatment. Subsequent visits are about half of that. Dr. Flaherty asked me a lot of questions about Red – his behavior, eating habits, history, behavioral traits. It was good to talk about Red with a vet, he is an intense dog and living with him has been an intense experience. I realized describing him just how much of an impact he has had on me, my life, and the lives of others.

My purpose in beginning acupuncture treatments for him were a little fuzzy for me. I was curious about it, but I also felt that Red could use some help with calming and stress. He is a wired-up border collie, he works with sheep, in therapy, goes everywhere with me, watches me closely. He almost never relaxes, is in constant motion. He is a worrier, I think, an eager-to-please and vigilant dog and I thought he deserved the chance to be calmer, to be more grounded. I was impressed with the first visit.

Red stood up as Dr. Flaherty inserted the needles, then lay down and was still for more than 20 minutes. He seemed very much at ease, at peace there, I had the sense this was good for him, calming and settling, a release from his good and very intense and hard work. She inserted about 20 very thin needles, they caused him no discomfort.

Last night, he was as calm as I have seen him, he seemed to be quiet, resting, not quite a hyper or alert. I was encouraged by the first visit, and will continue the treatments. I told Dr. Flaherty my purpose was to help Red learn how to relax and also to give him release from the sometimes tense and very hard work he does almost every day. I’ll be taking photos as well.

There’s an artist who lives in the pasture,

she has been working as an artist for some time,

she does not have a day job.

She works alone, and at night,

does not have an agent, or a Facebook Page,

she works quietly, her work is only visible when

there is dew or mist, and the sun comes out, she uses

natural and recycled fabric, does not create waste or pollution,

and almost every day her work is destroyed,

by wind or rain or bugs crashing through.

She does not complain about the tortured life of the

artist, or write about her suffering and unappreciated life,

she does not know how to whine or complain.

She works every night, I have never seen

her, perhaps never will, her studio moves almost every

day.

It was a startling and awakening thing to find myself standing in the smoldering ashes of my life a few years after, realizing as I turned 60 that I had no idea who I was or what it meant to be human. We are all human beings, but I have never known what that really means. I have been thinking about this question for most of my life – what does it mean to become human? I resolved as I got older to become a human being before I died, it has become my last great goal in life, the final spiritual and moral and human challenge.

Becoming human is the point of life for me, and on those increasingly rare days when I scan what they call the news, I see that the news is teaching me what it means to not be human. It is not of much use to me, it does not inform me of the true nature of the world.  That, I suppose is the easy part of the lesson.

What is my door to humanity, to becoming human?

It is the sound of a dog barking, a donkey braying, a hawk crying out in the sky.

It the absence of fear, anger and argument. It is not in the “left” or the “right.”

It means forgiving my parents, they did the best they could do. Letting go.

It means finding love, and allowing it into my life.

It means being honest, being authentic.

It means building the boundaries of my life, I cannot save other people, they cannot save me.

It means bowing each day at the altar of the creative spark, the one gift God gave all of us,

it lights my way.

It means embracing the selflessness of true love, every day I ask myself how I can

enrich and brighten her life, support and nourish her? To be human for me is not,

really, about me at all.

Becoming human for me means re-connecting to the natural world, living in nature,

and in the ancient and healing world

of animals, caring for them faithfully and well.

It means feeding the birds in winter, and taking the snakes

out to the warm rocks before winter.

It means giving the chickens their worms,

It means planting gardens and watering them.

You ask me if I think your visions are true,

And I say yes, yes, yes,

If they make you kinder to every creature, every human,

animal or plant that you know.

That is becoming human.