Just Hold It

Arnold is lying next to me on his extremely torn and tattered meditation mat (the tears and tatters are directly attributable to my young black hero who is scratching his ear at the moment). He has spent the day under my car, refusing all invitations to come inside and have his lunch. Jackie finally said if she could reach him, she would smack him for being so rude. Simon simply gave him one of the chicken bones in his bowl that he chewed in a desultory manner. Finally when they took off for the Curve, I got down on my haunches and called him with increasing sternness after which I reached under the car, grabbed his collar and hauled him out. He is a naughty doggie but on being hauled out, he accepted it with equanimity and calmly trotted beside me into the house, straight for his bowl where he ate to his heart's content with every appearance of enjoyment. He has since gone to the hall to position himself far enough from me so as not to feel crowded, but still where he can get a direct view if he chooses to look this way. I think the dog is like me in many ways, especially when we go through our moody or antisocial bouts and just want to be left alone. (Except in his case, I generally do not countenance it).

Yesterday we drove to the foothills of Fraser's and played around in a beautiful waterfall that was directly opposite the entrance to the fish sanctuary. Now, the fish sanctuary which leads into the Chilling waterfall is closed from Monday to Thursday, but we had no way of knowing that. Anyways, a university lecturer who had arrived with his troupe of students to recce the place for group dynamics on Saturday told me that to get to this waterfall, we would have to trek for 30 to 40 minutes and ford five rivers. I don't know about you but I'm generally not the fording river type. Also, I was in my sneakers. So we found the other waterfall which was beautiful with cold heavenly water, and splashed around to our heart's content.

Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife and updates about tsunamis and earthquakes and nuclear meltdowns and if you're that way inclined, prophecies about the Mayan calendar and messages about how the quakershaker news is going to intensify over the next few months and how we have to hold the energy.

How to hold the energy?

Ah, but you should have learned that by now. And you would have if you hadn't spent the past few years in mundane pursuits rather than preparing...you were told to prepare; you thought you had all the time in the world...you didn't. Time is pliable but only to a certain extent...and now, and now...it has started to speed up. Damage control. Do what you can. Hold the energy.

But I don't know how.

Hold the energy.

But I don't know how....

Hold the energy.

Tell me how.

Hold the energy.

Just.

Hold.

It.