Herding sheep with Red touches something very deep and very old in me, I am the grandson of Russian immigrants, I am not a farmer, I am a thoroughly urban person, I spent most of my life in cities and suburbs across much of America, yet when I take Red and the sheep out I feel as if I am doing something familiar, something very much a part of my life, my history, my genes. I am wary of farm fantasies, they can be destructive and misleading, I have come to see this work is not a fantasy, it is a natural a part of me as there is, it is something I have always been drawn to.
I have learned that perspective in life is the very core of wisdom, the challenge is to find things you love, find things that are meaningful, but to always place them in the context of life and work and balance. Sheepherding with dogs is a beautiful thing to do, an ancient thing to do, it is perhaps in many ways more natural than most of the things we do in our lives. But I change, the world changes, I do not live in the past but the present, and this ritual is not the whole story for me, it is now only a small part of what I do, what any of us do. But it is unique in my life, there are few things that feel so natural, and I am shocked to be so good at it. I have five dog-broke sheep and a wonderful herding dog mostly trained by others, but our work together is easy, seamless, effective and deeply satisfying to me, I have been doing it almost every day for a decade now, it is as comfortable for me as going to get the mail.
I suppose sheepherding is a way for me to stay in touch with the part of being a human that is connected to nature, connected to the past. The greater parts of me want to be connected to the present, to the future, to my work, my love, a meaningful life, and even as I drink in the beauty of this ballet, I am reminded that my true life is very different, it lies in the drive for human connection, for relevant work, for my continuing struggle to live well, age well, die well. At my memorial service, I doubt anyone will say of me, Jon herded sheep. I hope they say I found love and honored it. That I learned to be honest and true to myself. That I wrote well and had a great blog.