Dogs could do that

The sun illuminates the very top of a neighbour’s lone Douglas fir, a tall tree inexplicably spared from being cut down. Behind it, a soft blue sky with white ruffles of cumlus; the first clear day after a procession of rainy ones. Blades of grass rise, one by one and altogether, from where they’ve lain, pinned prostrate to the clay soil by the pounding rain.

The sun. A perfect distance, from our undeservedly lucky planet where undeservedly lucky humans reside.

I think, not for the first time, how much we have fucked up this paradise, not only for ourselves, but for every other living thing in it.

I wonder, maybe for the first time, how much better off this paradise might have been, without our meddling consciousness.

What if we’d never developed consciousness? Had never become self aware, but held fast to the bliss of life.

Better yet, what if some other being had developed consciousness instead of us?

Dogs, for example.

Then I wonder if it’s possible to have consciousness, without caring about what your hair looks like.

I say this out loud.

Who? He asks.

He always says ‘who?” when he wants me to repeat myself. Not “I didn’t hear you” or “what was that you were saying?”

Who?

Do you think dogs could have consciousness, without worrying about what their hair looks like?

Yes, he says. Dogs could do that.

But not cats.

April 8, 2025 0

Just press “Paws”

Seldom, if ever, do people decide to just stop whatever they are engaged in; their work, their duty, their play, their goals, their dreams, their fears, their fantasies…their conscious lives.

Seldom, does one’s life reduce itself to its most basic elements.

An opportunity exists for us now to reflect; to sense ourselves without distraction. This is the opportunity that seekers of meaning; explorers of inner and outer spaces hunger for and here it is,

Plop, in the middle of our laps.

Cancel the meditation retreat and the ayahuasca, to induce an altered state and lead you into new awareness. Here it is, free of charge.

The bardo; the space after the exhale and just before the inhale. A long precious moment in our shared existence, where everything has hit ‘pause’.

And when “play” is pressed again, will the same Music play on?

I wonder.

March 23, 2020 0

Small Things

The idea of travelling to Haida Gwaii arrived in my head unprovoked. Perhaps I was influenced by marketing that I no longer remember, who can say? It’s not something that has haunted me in the past.

My uncle lived in Charlotte for several decades but I visited him long after he’d sold his marine engine business there and retired to the Gulf Islands.

Nevertheless, the idea took hold. I tried to shake it off several times. Getting there is expensive and time consuming. One might try to convince oneself it would be a scenic voyage along the coast… but on a ferry?

Two days before I was about to leave, my sailing was cancelled. Bad forecast. I was quite disappointed and a tiny bit relieved. I could cancel the trip or consider flying.

I asked a friend. She emailed back one word. “Go”.

I flew.

For the first couple of days, I kept waiting for something appropriately mysterious and magical to happen. Why had I been ‘called’ to visit Haida Gwaii, anyway?

I walked. I hiked. I drove. I ate. I slept. I explored the magnificent Haida museum in Skidegate. I took pictures.

And nothing, happened.

It was a trip about small things. Little openings of thought. Brief encounters with people. Better sleep each night. Looser walking each day.

Just small things.

September 28, 2019 0

Fifteen

We are celebrating Kaylah’s completion of fifteen earth years, on January 8th.
She was our second Schipperke, our first being a divine little beast whose physical form was a disaster; heart, liver, thyroid. Her fighting spirit and Schipperke elan delighted us. We’d adopted her at two, and we finally released her at six.

Kaylah (Mazeru’s Kenya) came to us from Anna Verleg, in Vernon BC. She was a feisty puppy, (factory installed) and I was a complete novice pet owner. She endured my ignorance with equanimity. Over the past decade and a half, I have diligently taught myself to be a better trainer and she has skilfully guided me to becoming a better human being.

Thank you, Kaylah.

January 7, 2019 0

Repurposing stuff

Today, I dismantled a single bed box spring with a pair of scissors and some needle nose pliers. It’s a fairly old box spring with Ruby chew marks at all corners.

Its next stop would be the landfill, so before that happened, I considered how I might repurpose it.

Box springs look quite luxurious in the store and they are pricey. It’s interesting to take one apart in about 15 minutes, revealing its less luxurious staples, cardboard, plastic, foam and polyester.

After stripping off the foam backed fabric, pulling out the staples, removing the large rectangle of cardboard, I was left with a fairly solid frame; screwed together, not stapled.

My plan is to bisect it and put wooden tops of each half to make two dog training platforms. I may decide to put some feet or wheels to elevate it from the ground and make them easier to move around outside.

Repurposing makes me feel happy.

Today, I am grateful for my husband who helps make my creative ideas a reality.

December 23, 2018 0