MY HAPPY COWS-- "Life Simplified"

I never saw a wild thing 

sorry for itself.

A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough 

without ever having felt sorry for itself.

--D.H. Lawrence

Lots of people have asked how I like Winchester, VA.  It is a great town.  In general, I have tried to explore and take advantage of some of the arts and history here. I went to the awesome little downtown area of Winchester last weekend to listen to Bill Emerson play the banjo on the Old Court House steps.  It was bluegrass music at its best.  Relaxing with a beer and good company made for a perfect evening.

Bill Emerson at the Old Court House in downtown Winchester

For someone who skipped American History (a glitch in curriculum by changing schools in high school), I know so little about the Civil War.  My grandfather, Arthur (who was a huge Civil War historian) would be very disappointed in this.  However, I am making good strides to “catch up” here in Virginia.  Mostly because there is a battlefield about every half mile where I can stop and read a little page right out of American history.  I have tried to stop and read the plaques as much as possible during the day.  

Civil War battlefield near White Post, VA

When I’m staring out over these beautiful Virginia fields, it’s hard to imagine the gruesome sights and sounds that must have occurred as men fought and died in these places.  The fields are so “at rest” now.   Most are full of wildflowers and butterflies dancing together.  Almost like the flowers and butterflies are the souls from the past shaking hands in acknowledgement of their wrongs.  One of the main reasons we are supposed to study (and appreciate) our History is so we can learn from our mistakes.  We are charged to do the same in our own lives no doubt--not just as a nation.

Beautiful barn just to left of a Virginia battlefield site

With that difficult thought in mind,  I present a most unsuspecting guide for doing so.  My “happy cows.”  

Note the little calf nursing underneath her...

Cows are some of the happiest creatures I have ever seen.  In general, doing Home Health over the past three and half years from the countryside of Camden to where I am now, I have passed LOTS of cows.  I also pass deer, horses, groundhogs, rabbits, birds and I have even seen one Black bear since getting to Virginia (he was too fast for a picture!).  

Mr. Groundhog

Buck in full velvet

Little Bambi

But all in all, it's the cows that really baffle me with their apparent level of contentment.  Most of the ones in Virginia are not dairy cows.  So that leaves...well...steak.  These cows however, are as content as any creature in the world with just a few conditions.  Their needs include: the safety of their pasture, grass to graze on (occasionally supplemented by hay), and a cool place to stand when the sun gets hot (the cows below even get two choices...shade or pond).  Every time I drive by the ones standing in the pond, their little faces all stretched out as they stand there soaking up life, I think about how content they look.  It’s in their eyes, in their walk, in the way they nuzzle each other, in the way they care for their young...even in the way they don’t look annoyed by twitching their little ears every three seconds to keep the flies away.  

They are totally happy and the negativity that may eventually be their fate does not influence their “today.”  As my quote for the day says, a wild thing never feels sorry for itself.  Today is just good to a cow.  A little grass, a little breeze, a shady spot on the Virginia country side--“life simplified.”  There is no need to worry about what may come.  And certainly no need to feel sorry for oneself.

Happy Cows soaking

I guess the lesson from my Happy Cows is this: Even though the cows bliss may (in part) be due to the lack of knowledge regarding their future--a luxury that does not come with being human--“life simplified” is possible for us too.  Though it’s easier said than done, worrying about what may come is not going to change our future one bit.  Self-pity, self-loathing, and low self-esteem over our woes in life won't help us surmount them.