Looking for Serenity

Once upon a time...far, far away...was a place where there was no stress, but we didn't know it. It was a place of excitement, wonder and discovery. Every day began in an almost boring way, picking up momentum as the combination of physical, mental and spiritual clues were given - free to anyone with curiosity. We now know that snapshot in time as our childhood. The older I get the more I yearn to turn back time and return to those simpler days. In my mind it is just yesterday when I caught my first fish, listened to the Northern Lights and smelled bacon and eggs wafting over the breeze as I did the chores. Not everyone had the opportunity to have a dragonfly land on their finger as their father taught them the secrets of being very quiet when fishing. Feeling the early morning sun bless my cheek as I walked out to open the gate for the milk cows. The dust as I threw the saddle on the back of 'old Prince', our Quarter horse. A thousand flashbacks; a million pictures complete with sound. Even in the bitter cold of winter the magic was there. Steam pouring off the backs of the animals; frosty bellows of my pal Jessie- my friend and secret canine confident as he warned away the coyotes that only he could smell. As time passed and youth blossomed, a whole new set of adventures was in store, but I didn't know it then, either. My parents knew but they let me learn the lessons only best remembered by experience. I became responsible for the lives of a thousand things and did not realize it. Book learning showed the reasons why yet opened whole universe of new questions of how come? We lived in a time way beyond Christopher Columbus but understood how he could sail because we had built our own personal rafts. We respected our peers and sensed where fun ended and trouble began. Not to confuse our amazement but advance our scope of the unknown, many of us were thrust into a town or a city atmosphere. Schools were different as was the way our newfound friends looked at things. Oceans of pavement replaced the fields of oats and a whole new code of ethics took over. There was an ongoing contest of stronger, smarter, richer and better looking. Even then we knew, those of us who could still hear the crickets, this was a much different way of being raised. We were so lucky to have, whether we knew it or not, experienced the real meaning of serenity that today draws me back to the lapping of water against our old row boat and the scream of a hunting hawk. I can still hear the wind whooshing through her wings as she scooped a gopher just a stones throw away. So many memories come flooding back when I cannot help but listen, see and feel the constricted breathing of today's societies. It is like the earth's blood is becoming thick and syrupy from today's values of what life is supposed to be. You and I have a responsibility to our young. Who else will give them, freely, the experience of serenity? Our young stallions and princesses need the guidance of simple logic and reality along with the knowledge and power to blow up an invading meteor that may hit the earth some day. We have to slow them down so they, too, can watch the sunset and hear the sunrise. Nature is an old and wise teacher and no amount of power or control will change her mind if she decides to make a point. I may not be able to ride in the Rodeos any longer but I do know a good rider when I see one. Most animals are not frightened of our age group and a simple look can say a lot. The reason I travel down this path this month is because of a simple, yet serious challenge. At 10:45 this morning, I will be picking up my Grandson who is coming out to "visit" us from Toronto. He is an overweight, unfocused, confused 17 year old that has never gone fishing. He also seems to have this "concentration problem". That will be Grampa's opportunity to teach this young lad that there is really a lot to be said about going fishing with an old man. Gramma will quickly show him how to make a bed.

 

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