Lady and the Cow
After a series of 3 bus rides to get to Ayder, Turkey to visit the hot springs I was quite tired. There is something about 20 hours of back to back bus rides that puts one in a different mental space. I was walking up a single lane footpath to get to a small hotel when i found myself behind a woman who was bent over from an incredible case of scoliosis. She was leaning heavily on her walking stick hunched over from her low back to a near right angle. Her clothing was typical for the region with a headdress that had little jangling ornaments.
She saw her favourite cow and reached out, leaning heavily on her cane to steady herself. She grabbed this cow by the horn and pulled her close. She then kissed the cow on the snout speaking calm, sweet compliments to her. Cows, a skittish animal, stayed close to her as she stroked her head. She looked as though she needed this comfort, this encouragement from an old friend.
As I walked past the cow and reached out my hand to stroke its head it looked up at me with an uncertainty. It turned and walked away. As I continued up the hill, I smiled and pondered how friendships take time to build, even with the cow folk.
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When I was in the Netherlands trying to figure out what to do next in life, I got the sense I needed to come on this journey across the Stans and into Nepal. I knew this journey would have its challenges: the solitary travel, the language barriers, the trekking in the mountains, and the unforeseen situations. As I sat with this decision I wondered why would I go on this journey. I had some options back home in Canada. I felt strongly that I needed to go overland to Nepal, but why travel to these lands? Why invest this money this way?
I had a vision to walk the present moments, to explore that which I have never seen. I wanted to be alive and present with new cultures, making new friends, and pushing myself to my edge hoping for a good outcome. In all of this I wanted to experience the moments of beauty. Then to somehow gather up this beauty, write about it, and capture it in photography. I see my vocation at present to experience and then to tell the story.
In other words, to walk in beauty.
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When I was in the Netherlands trying to figure out what to do next in life, I got the sense I needed to come on this journey across the Stans and into Nepal. I knew this journey would have its challenges: the solitary travel, the language barriers, the trekking in the mountains, and the unforeseen situations. As I sat with this decision I wondered why would I go on this journey. I had some options back home in Canada. I felt strongly that I needed to go overland to Nepal, but why travel to these lands? Why invest this money this way?
I had a vision to walk the present moments, to explore that which I have never seen. I wanted to be alive and present with new cultures, making new friends, and pushing myself to my edge hoping for a good outcome. In all of this I wanted to experience the moments of beauty. Then to somehow gather up this beauty, write about it, and capture it in photography. I see my vocation at present to experience and then to tell the story.
In other words, to walk in beauty.
Comments
Reuben - I have kissed a camel but never a cow. Someday!