Quiet Cow Moment

Quiet Cow Moment
            I grew up across from a dairy farm. The cows ambled into the pasture in the morning, and shuffled back to the barn in the afternoon. Their mooing and collective movements were a background movie to my childhood.
            One day, a lone cow stood facing me across the fence. I stopped and looked back quietly. The cow was unruffled by my presence. She continued chewing, eyes seeming to look straight through me.
            Was the cow thinking? Maybe the cow was in the Zen state humans aspire to when they need to calm down. There was the smell of grass, the blue of the sky, and a light breeze. That’s all she needed to process, and she seemed quite at peace.
            If only we humans could achieve that state of bovine nirvana so easily. When feeling agitated or anxious, take a moment to channel the cow in the field. If possible, get outdoors in a peaceful nature spot and focus on basic sensory inputs, tuning out extraneous thoughts.
            The featured hike from the archives this week is Olema Bolinas Ridge Walk, an idyllic pastoral walk in the fields near the ocean at Point Reyes National Seashore.
            Find your quiet cow moment, if only within your own mind. Keep putting one foot forward!
 
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This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
Hike Notes 50: Olema Bolinas Ridge Walk