With gratitude to Moss

Sometimes in life, it’s as though the planets are crashing, everything seems to be going wrong.  Even the kettle has chosen this morning to spring a leak!  It’s at times like this, when my father used to say, the most important thing to do is to look after children and the animals, because they don’t understand.  I think there’s some wisdom in that.

These last couple of weeks have been awkward.  There have been all kinds of demands which have meant that walking times have had to be altered. Moss has been very accommodating.  I’ve had to go out and do other, more urgent things, first.  Many of her morning walks have actually been in the afternoon. 

Sorry Moss.

There are many benefits of having a dog, the companionship, the unconditional love, the beauty of their souls ...  One of the very best things, in my opinion, is the demands they make of us.  They need us to look after them properly and, in particular, take them out for a walk.

I was thinking about the need to walk, when the following quote by the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard (1813-55) caught my eye.

“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk.  Every day, I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from illness.  I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.” 

“Come on then …” I say to Moss.  And with a little scratch behind the ears, I put her harness on and out we go for a walk.

Image:          Moss at the centre of our lives.