COW CAPERS

My great grandmother lived on a farm in Tennessee. She had many cows. Of them, my favorite was the black and white one she had. I loved petting it. And time and time again she warned me to not stand behind this one because it would kick. I remember laughing to myself as she walked away, wondering what harm a sweet, old, docile cow could do ... right about the time I flew across the field and a hill broke my flight. Not seriously hurt, but very stunned, I deduced 2 things at the tender age of 6, the first being that older people may really know what they are talking about and second, a sweet, docile cow can kick you waaaay into another life. I hobbled away from the hill with a lot more respect for my great grandmother and a lot more respect for the cow.

That is a lesson and experience I will never forget, as is my time laying against the hillside the cow introduced me to, watching it watch me. And oh, how it watched me. So very early on I learned how very observant cows were. I will add that I had not moved to the rear of the cow after grandmother left. I was there the whole time, as she was. But that cow waited until she left. That cow knew an opportunity when it presented itself. It was fully aware.

But that is the way of the cow. They are highly perceptive and observant animals. They can sense things ... like golden "opportunities" ;), as well as weather changes or any danger they may be in. From them, I have learned what it means to be observant and aware of things around me. The cow is very strong and it is more than able to stand its ground when threatened (or just being plain ol ornery). To protect themselves from severe weather or threat, cows will move closer together. You can actually accurately predict the weather by how close the cows are to one another. The closer together they are, the worse the weather will be. I have learned from them that there is great strength in being able to stand our ground for what we believe to be true, regardless of what appears to be threatening us. It is this powerful strength of integrity that will enable  us to weather any storm and get us though any circumstance ... with maybe just a few mischievous capers to keep it all interesting. ;)