In a gentle way, you can shake the world ~ Mahatma Gandhi

If you like to write or want to write but don’t know what to write, your life just got better. YOU CAN WRITE ABOUT ANYTHING.

Joy, a woman in one of my writing classes who could take something as common as her feet and tell a story about her relationship to them had us all engrossed. A room in a house that holds memories can reveal mysteries beyond the imagination. Following a journey in the day of . . . . you fill in the blank, can peak one’s interest. If a story engages all the senses, and draws a detailed picture, it will intrigue your reader.

Every day life is fodder to the writer who sits down with intention and curiosity. Your intention will give you perseverance, and your curiosity will open you to your muse.

I just finished the book, Love, Life, and Elephants, an African Love Story, by Dame Daphne Sheldrick. This had specific interest for me since I am traveling to East Africa in the fall. This morning on a walk in a once abandoned pineapple field, I had an experience with a cow that I don’t think I would have had, in the way I did, had I not read her book.

Dame Daphne ran an orphanage for animals who were either injured and had to be nursed before they were released once again into their natural habitat, as well as young animals who’s mother, and sometimes their entire family, had been killed by animals of prey or poachers.

On my walk I met two black-angus cows grazing. They were transported to this particular field to fertilize a section of the land that is being readied for a housing track. Even though there was a chain-linked fence between us, the connection I had with each cow was profound.

Though I always say hello to any animal I pass, this was different. In the book, the writer recounted the depth of her relationship to elephants, warthogs and zebras to name a few. Her observations about their ability to feel, sense and communicate changed my feeling about animals in general and specifically for this cow. I stood in front of her and spoke softly. “You’re a sweet girl, such a sweet girl” and other endearments. She and I maintained eye contact for at least 10 minutes. She did not run away, nor go back to grazing until I took my leave.

Bridging the separation gap, whether it is with animal or another human, is a gentle way we can become more intimate with our surrounding and all sentient beings. When we do this, our heart becomes connected to “other.” The cow’s presence allowed me to soften, become present, and in that moment, connect with the oneness we all emerge from.  That was a good way to start the day.

An everyday experience and a story emerges. Try it!