Today marks the 3rd consecutive day that I have not left our place. For the last two days, I have spent much of the day alone as my wife provides an invaluable service as a speech pathologist/therapist to children, many with special needs.

Now when I say alone, that is not entirely correct for I have had some very lengthy conversations with Linus and Lucy, our two cats, and Gracie and Benny, our two dogs with Benny being only 12 weeks old. I have even a had some short talks with our rooster. ‘Tween you and me, he is a bit of an asshole, but sure is beautiful.

House training and just general training of Benny is nearly a full time job along with dealing with Gracie’s need for more attention too. I am not a patient man with these things but I can feel a deep tugging that is saying, “this is another opportunity to learn.”

I found that a puppy is much easier to deal with when they are sound asleep and the best way to experience that is to make sure they get a lot play time and some good ole sniffing time. I spend a lot of time out back in the pasture. Having five acres is great when you have a puppy. I started wearing my Fitbit again and noticed yesterday that little doggy made me take over 18,000 steps.

Having time by myself has almost forced me to begin interacting differently with our animals. We are developing a relationship. Thomas Berry, a priest who spent a lot of time examining the human-natural-divine relationship among many other topics, said…

“We must shift from an entirely human centered view of our existence to a realization that the earth is a communion of subjects, a oneness of which we are all a part. It is not a collection of objects for our use.”

— Recovering a Sense of the Sacred: Conversations with Thomas Berry by Carolyn W. Toben

Thomas Berry would have certainly encouraged me to expand my awareness of relationships beyond cats, dogs, and an arrogant rooster. I have read studies that humans really are made up of stardusts, that being all the elements came from a supernova event. What did Saint Francis call them? Wasn’t it Brother Sun, Sister Moon? Thomas Berry refers to an “intimate rapport” with human and the cosmic along with a new sacred story informed by science and a sense of the sacred, the divine, along with its “Lovingly” voice.

What do I know? I only have feelings… like the feeling I get when walking through an old growth redwood forest where death, decay, and new life all seem to have a perfect relationship, a communion I suppose.

I have watched some people, usually girls and young women, who seem to have a relationship with their horses. The horse is not an object to them at all. Recently, we were given a wonderful painting by a local artist. June Carey, I think is her name. I realized she does not paint objects. She paints subjects. She reflects the relationships.

I have this thing where I flash write a song and then post it regardless of what I think of it. It is interesting because something from the unconscious often arises and I usually have no idea what it is all about. A few years ago I wrote this one in about 15 minutes. I am starting to understand it better as I think about a river as a subject instead of an object. Peace. https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/PJTSFSDx8WjRDx2g8