Observations and pictures of animal activities can promote in us our human perspectives and a subsequently creative commentary that projects human thoughts and feelings onto an animal life style. This style of creative language is highly employed for the creation of scripts on animal cartoons and films that include ‘talking animals’. Adding captions to photographs is an amusing medium for stimulating creative writing. In schools young children are invited to talk about a picture that they have drawn and their words are then written out by the listening adult. One might reasonably question how much influence the social structure, time factors and the following task of copying the words in their own handwriting has on the amount and content of these young children’s verbal descriptions. Any young children outside of the school environment seem to love talking about what they have done at great length if a suitable listening space is created by an empathetic person. Given the task of writing or typing out any lengthy descriptive commentary is something that everyone might shrink to a minimum when the day is full other priorities and expectations. Creative writing is often at its best when there is a no more to the work than the speaking.

Captions on pictures give a new depth of respectful credibility to a relatively easy and short creation of prose. The following example illustrates the satisfaction and entertainment levels easily attained with the help of some special pictures.

The lamb in the picture had hurt his leg and although he could still walk about and graze he was laying down for longer periods of time than usual and not bothered by the special attention that consequently came to him while resting.

 

My Winter Warmers

Separation from our pets can be felt very deeply as a heart breaking aspect of our living reality; whether organised by God (as their death) or by our own circumstances. Heartfelt decisions and the inevitable moment of separation form their innocent companionship, can wobble the emotions in even the toughest and wisest adult.

Always in God’s Care

I miss them most in the long quiet of the night.
The doing of the day protects me from my aches of separation;
While my heart still loves them and knows this will never change.
They are truly earth bound blessings in disguise,
Sweet celebrations, living gifts sent to us as a part of His divine creation.
They will always be servants of goodness,
Truly living the life God has bestowed upon them.
Protected by their faith in His love and His light.

Matthew 6:25-28 [‘Therefore I tell you do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on . Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air : they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?’]

Messages from Nature

Long may the Lark sing

Long may the Lark sing, through her flight on the wing.
Long may the wind wander, in the valleys here and yonder.
Long may the sun warm our land, and nourish the earth on which I stand.
Long may the snowflake flutter to the floor, outside my warm and cosy ‘welcome’ door.
Long may the children abundantly shower, laughter onto every flower.
Long may the river’s tunes flow, through my ears to my feet below.
Long may our love so fine, share those gifts most divine.

Sing my sweet song bird, stay settled in your soft serenade, let sunshine sponsor your sincerity through this sleepy, snowy season of survival.

Spiritual conversations can be spontaneous and playfully:-

To See, to Know, to Feel

I have seen God, have you?
I have seen Him smile at the Robin
And laugh at the scarecrow;
I saw Him kiss the daisies good morning.
When I see God  - God sees me!
He saw me eating the glacier cherries,
He saw me crying when I fell in the duck pond.

I have heard God speaking to me
Have you heard the voice of God?
He sings to me sweet lullabies of love
And whispers wise words into my ears,
But still .....I heard God cry when the butterfly died,
And He heard my heart break when I was feeling alone again.

I have felt God’s breath, a sweet and heavenly embrace.
Have you felt God breathing near you?
I have felt him move the clouds and lift the sun.
I feel his warmth everywhere.
Because He is my closest friend,
I know His love will never end........

Many of our lives are intertwined with the lives of our pet companions and sometimes wild animals living close to our homes. These relationships can bring much joy as well as challenges and grief. Some people consider that creative writing can be helpful when we are proclaiming feelings of gratitude and grief, admiration and appreciation. The following poetry was written by the author as an expression of her own experiences, from the innocent freedoms of her childhood and on into adult life and growing feelings of responsibility.

In Honour of the lovely Arwen

God graced me with a horse so fine,
So gentle even the wind did sigh upon their meeting.
So beautiful everyone paused to embrace her with sweet word and smiles.
So graceful the ground beneath her feet surrendered in peaceful stillness.
So loyal hearted she carried me safely everywhere we travelled together.
So agile she moved in a natural meditation of balance and harmony.
So swift she leaned into the joys of galloping
As she breathed in the speed of her passion
and stepped out the strength of her heart .

So bold no stable could constrain her and no stranger could ride her.
So playful the earth celebrated with rhythmic tunes her dancing and prancing.
So intelligent she could speak in proud exotic movements and acrobatic fun.
So courageous she jumped with fluent grace, high and clear as the morning sun.
God graced me with a spirit horse
Her companionship brought me profound blessings,
Such that my heart still swells with gratitude
For her sweet innocence and beauty,
As my tear-filled eyes swim in remembrance

Pantha [a dog who lived from the spirit of his soul......]
His happiness is freedom
He doesn’t like the town -crowding strangers make him nervous,
But when he is free,
His flowing graceful movements openly declare
The delicate elegance of the young buck deer.
His refined sensitivity often causes him distress
But with his supreme obedience and loving understanding
Pantha will always be the best.

I caught a miniature mouse

Smaller than the tip of my thumb.
Yet, not too young, and boldly independent.
I placed you for safe keeping,
In a temporary confinement of luxury?
While I contrive to provide you with a new style of life!
In homeless separation your spirit was broken,
As still as the night, you curled up and called death.
So I with inner remorse and much regret,
With an ache-full memory that is hard to forget.
Beg your forgiveness and prey for your deliverance.
Your company so sweet still plays in my senses,
Your skippingful scurrying and joyful adventures.
I heard with clarity your sparky enthusiasms
And skilful ramblings within my warm abode!
Yet my intelligence feared your fun
And contrived to deliver you to a new domain.
Seeing you contained in a small box trap
I admired your gallantry, your fervour and courage.
I wished you well for much you have taught me about my own disturbances
Within my dull life of complexity and luxurious living.
So foolish was I to think that I could rearrange your small sweet existence.
Your fragile form now rests in peace.
Your joyful sharing will no more be there for my entertainment.
While I seek to find God with my pompous consciousness,
You dance in His lap, returned into His care.
Now your body is still, I know you are there,
Joyfully playing in that heavenly place Receiving His most timely Grace.

Lord of all Creation

God’s gift to us as a human being is to be given ‘a new identity and a new practical purpose through the mediation of the beautiful, through the rapture that comes from the radiant form……..The beautiful does indeed “speak” and its word is one of invitation, even coercion ………to avoid it would be tantamount to refusing the best of oneself, to ignored it would be to ignore who one was meant to be………Thus the beautiful seizes a person, orients her radically toward the transcendent source of beauty and then sends her outward as a missionary ’ [‘And Now I See by Robert Barron; Crossroad Pub, 1998:91]

Interestingly Barron appears to relate this perception of beauty specifically to the female aspect of our human disposition. This disposition is attributed to the right hemisphere of the brain which Taylor attributes to neurological activity which she experienced as follows:-

‘Walking in the rain is a multi-dimensional experience that moves me deeply.  .......Feeling the warmth of sunshine on my face and the kiss of a breeze on my cheek also connects me directly with a part of myself that feels at one with all that is………‘My right hemisphere is all about right here, right now, it bounces around with unbridled enthusiasm and does not have a care in the world,.....(and).is completely committed to the expression of peace and love, joy and compassion in the world.’[My Stroke of Insight by J. Taylor; London: Hodder & Stoughton,2009:133-139]

I saw some sheep sleeping in the snow with snowflakes softly settling on their sweet faces. I could smell the snow-bound silence as the sunshine slowly spread across the sparkling slopes of stillness. [Alliterative poem written by the author]

The natural world offers a rich form of sensory experience that seems to stimulate both a sense of peace and appreciation along with our most creative expressions of gratitude and celebration.‘…….Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain?

Can you paint with all the colours of the wind?’
(From the theme song to the Walt Disney film – Pocohonta.)

Alternatively God may try to accommodate our strange behaviour:-

God said with a sigh as he looked down from on high....
You have changed the story!
You have stopped receiving My eternal glory.
It seems you have forgotten all that I have begotten.
You’re no-longer living in a stream of the eternal dream.
I’ll try to slow things down
When you want me around.
Better still, if I go in reverse,
Maybe that’ll stop things getting worse.
Yes,  instead of God
I’ll become doG .
Each of you will have the choice to care for me in person!?
You won’t notice I’m always reversing.
Each will be attached to me on a lead
And separation will be easier to control,
And you will get fit running after me
And I will make sure you greet the trees,
the birds and the bees,
And spot a few beautiful flowers etc.  Etc.  Etc.

Sometimes we may find ourselves challenged by events that bring us to prayer; seeking divine intervention that can rescue us from grief and fears of future safety. Prayer is often focused on the safety and care for others when situations are beyond our control and not looking good in terms of a ‘happily ever after’ ending.

Sometimes we may fear that our actions may have initiated adverse consequences.

Such a little dog

The nightmare, that began with a cracking sound as hoof hit bone, continues into the night beyond.                               If only I had done this not that,
If only you had not run so close.
If only I could heal you, changing you now into as you were then,
Holding back the waves on the inward tide of death.

Where are you? I wonder, and calling out
I toss and turn as the Moon looks upon.
I can see you, I can feel your body,
But you are not there as you were before.

Your stillness has gone beyond silence into the ache of absence;
A peaceful light guides you along death’s path,
And the rain keeps falling like the shadow of my tears.

As I move through the clouds of grief
The love between us grows as your final blessing,
As that children’s laughter reminds me
Of the joy in my heart, all the love you shared.

Through my glassy gaze, my eyes meet
The golden leaves of autumn rejoicing as they fall.
Help me not to fear death, for the angels walk that path
And celebrate within that heavenly home.

So my littlest friend, it is time to sing my farewells
And in certainty I walk on into death,
Proud to follow in your wee footsteps.

Hailed the prayer has been answered,
You have been given the choice to return
And we all marvel at your rebirth.
Your passion for life anoints us all, as we witness your miracle.

This poem was written after Orla, my Yorkshire terrier was accidentally kicked in the head by one of our horses; she was very seriously, presumably fatally, wounded.  As it turned out Orla came to a point of what appeared to be her physical death.  I believe her turn into her body was facilitated by Jesse (her German Shepherd companion/surrogate mother) At this point Jesse came for the first time since the accident, and lay in a small landing space beside Orla. Jesse spent over three hours without moving her position, mirroring Orla’s exact physical position. I feel Orla’s miraculous recovery was the result of Jesse’s outstanding behaviour and the profound focus of love and healing that I and many others shared with Orla; combined with Orla’s own vibrant and devoted disposition, before she was kicked. A great lesson for myself and others. She gradually over the following year, recovered both her mobility and her lost sight and spent the rest of her years happily helping us care for the families and special children who came to stay at our farm.

Some years later I found myself again calling for divine help in relation to another doggy drama.

I had three female dogs, one was old, one was less than a year, the other was my small little Yorkshire terrier, Orla. One evening unknown to us a wild dog managed to mate my two bigger dogs and one belonging to the neighbouring farmer. Nine weeks later to the day, these three girls all had pups. As I watched over my old dog with concern she happily gave birth to nine pups. As each one was born the children gathered to sit beside her and hold them whilst another was born. However, the young dog had a very much harder whelping experience and she rejected her eight healthy puppies. We treated her with homeopathy and three days later she happily accepted her role of motherhood. We lived with 17 puppies and the older dogs in our farm kitchen, where they slept happily in front of the Rayburn. They were exceptionally gentle and it was always safe for even the smallest and the most boisterous children to receive the puppies’ affections and play with them. We were confident we would find them loving homes. Three months later all the puppies were still with us. In desperation I arranged for them to be taken to a dog rescue home.

Two puppies were reserved and one mysteriously hurt her leg when she was put in the car on the day I took them to the lady from the dog rescue. This puppy stayed with me until as  a mature dog she was rehomed with a friend. She was a nervous dog, perfect with children but not accepting of strangers. She remained on the farm as her mother’s closest companion and the children’s playmate. This was the pup that had enthusiastically said to me upon its arrival into the world “It’s me. It’s me!” to which I replied “whoever you are I am not keeping even one puppy because I already have too many dogs. Two is great, three difficult to manage and four would certainly be unmanageable, if the dogs were to remain treated as members of the family.

The poem describes how I made myself give them all away and my deep regret in relation to what I knew they deserved and what their future happiness would be. As I drove the car my heart ached with a connected to one of the pups that I felt was especially outstanding.

To the One I Sent Away

Oh! why didn’t I speak?
Why didn’t I say?
Why didn’t I hold you safely away.

From that cage of captivity,
From that journey of despair,
From that wild world out there.

Why didn’t I listen?
To your silent pleas so clear.
Why couldn’t I give you that special bit more care?
Why was I so set on what I had to do!

You deserve to be heard.
You really were the best.
You were the essence of love
More than all the rest.

It was-I who brought the curse;
It was I who was stubborn without remorse.
It was my pain inside I tried to hide.

I wish I could go back again;
I would love to know how you are keeping.
I pray you are safe and warm at heart.

And I ask your forgiveness;
And I asked for the light,
And I ask God to send his angels to put my wrong right.

This puppy was very special, but unlike the one that was left behind, nothing gave me even a little encouragement to not let her go with the others. Without the help of providence I could not move from my painful process of giving them to the dog-rescue. The one I wanted to hide from the others was the one that the Rescue Lady took an immediate and very special liking to. All I could do now was hope that her recognition of this puppy’s special qualities would ensure that she got the best home possible. All the puppies were homed by the rescue within 48 hours of their arrival and they asked me if I had any more left at home. I trust God did answer my prayers. Indeed on some auspicious occasions in the following years I happened to meet a few of them and their kind owners.

When I think of them now I celebrate the powerful journey these puppies brought us all. Blessings in disguise as time moved us to realise. The puppies came from heaven, angels from paradise. I feel confident now that God can make the impossible possible and thereby brought all the puppies wonderful homes.  I feel confident they were protected from my fears of what could happen to them because God can also make the possible impossible. So whatever possible troubles they might have to meet could indeed under His most auspicious guidance bring them the loving care they deserved. One puppy I know was months later found on the streets of a city hundreds of miles away. She was then taken to the city dog pound. Her future was now looking very doubtful; there was nothing in her looks or behaviour that could show her outstanding disposition. Miraculously, a very kind and loving man found her there and rigorously tested to find fault in her temperament. He was impressed and took her home to live happily with himself and his family for the rest of her days. It would seem that extremely adverse conditions can bring forward the most rewarded prayers, and also, remind us of the good in ourselves as well as the compassion and willingness God attributes to answering our calls for His help.

We commonly described our experiences as positive or negative as our spiritual journey inevitably embraces a unique intertwining of creation and separation:-

Life’s Road

Though life’s road may feel long
It is only a lightning flash from the heavens to the earth below.
Though the toils may feel hard
They are only small patches of rough on the landscape of life.
Wrong and right are circumstantial and thereby indefinable
As elusive as the wind dodging between trees.

Processes of healing can involve the two opposing energies of creation and destruction.

Good or bad ?

The storm did break
The rain did fall;
Drowning and reviving,
Flooding and caressing,
The dry land below.

When these energies are used appropriately they create harmony and balance and healing is successful. However, for many of us balance and harmony are not necessarily easy to find and often feels hard to maintain:-