The weight of the world on his paws…….
So, to mark ONE WHOLE YEAR of my #thoughtsanddogwalks with Diggers on my Facebook page, this will be it’s new weekly home on my website blog - still every Sunday, just easier to read them and catch up on them if you miss them! - Here is Thoughts and Dogwalks from Sunday 21st March 2021:
So, our business meeting this morning was the first one of Spring. The blossom was already starting to come out and the air felt different. The birds were singing loudly and it was all very uplifting. It certainly was enough to put a spring in your step!.......... Except for Diggers, he was definitely not feeling the change of the seasons. A spring in his step was definitely what he needed as it was beginning to feel like dragging 9-10Kg of granite round with me! (Diggers will be horrified that I have disclosed his weight !)
‘What’s up with you Diggers?’ I asked as I gently prised him along, ‘It’s like you’ve got leaden legs this morning! Breathe in that Spring air! Even the Highland cattle look happier this morning and they always look austere’.
He sighed, (a dramatic Jack Russell type sigh..) ‘I can’t move very fast this morning’ he said in a laboured tone, ‘I’m walking with the weight of the world on my paws’.
‘Why is that Digger’s?’ I asked as I stopped to look at him and listen to his reply.
‘Well, you talk about spring being in the air and everything starting to feel uplifting and yet….’
‘And yet what Diggers? What is weighing you down?
‘Hate’, he said (That’s a big word I thought)
‘It seems like the whole world is full of hate and anger right now. People are angry about the past, the present AND arguing about the future. Everybody casting blame and spreading anger and nobody offering positive steps forward. I wish it would STOP! I just keep absorbing it all like a sponge that's getting more and more saturated and heavier and heavier to carry around. It’s just getting too much!’
He sat down and sniffed the air… even the rabbits weren’t going to ignite that spark this morning,
I sat down on the bank next to him and put my arm around him. ‘Have you been looking at my social media news feeds again?’ I asked
Diggers turned his head away and looked out across the field…. ‘I might have been’ he said a little defensively.
‘Well, It’s like this Diggers’, I said, looking out across the fields with him, ‘It’s all too easy to get drawn into the hate and the debate, because with Social Media it is just a click away and pretty much anonymous. With it being so instant and so easy to click ‘reply’ people don’t always take time to consider and weigh up everything. It can be ‘knee jerk’ and not considered. People then become even more defensive and that then boils over into becoming offensive which often doesn’t help an already inflamed situation. Then you get the big brands wading in fuelling the debate further and influencing their customer base who feel loyal to them (but in reality it is just another great marketing opportunity for them) so the pressure keeps mounting. The saddest part though is that often the original, valid message, statement or grievance that started out becomes amplified in the wrong way and creates more anger, inflaming the situation more or desensitising people to the cause and they switch off to it. Another sad fact is that this angry ‘noise’ can lead to stress and anxiety disorders in people who absorb it all ,which can have any number of ‘knock-on’ effects on their mental and physical health.
The other day I actually ‘unfollowed’ a big Yoga organisation I have ‘followed’ for years on social media. They had posted an ‘Anti-Hate’ message in big bold colours with no supporting narrative which generated a massive amount of response (no doubt it’s aim). Flicking through the responses, I have never seen so much anger, hate and blame from people emanating off one page. An ‘anti-hate’ post had done nothing but fuel what it allegedly had set out to defeat. I was shocked and saddened that even something as passive as my beloved Yoga could stir up so much hate and blame. To me they are two words that a Yogi would not contemplate.
I reminded Diggers of a quote by the mighty Buddah….
“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard.
Do not let pain make you hate.
Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness.”
I looked up but Diggers was down the track barking up at a tree and bouncing up and down on his back legs like Tigger! He had spotted a squirrel and that had definitely put the spring back in his step! The meeting was over!
Little signs of spring peeking through
Until next week…….
