Henry, my dog, insisted that we take our daily walk during the torrential downpour today in the south of England. As I thumped out my wellies (in case of spiders) and donned my weatherproof coat, I considered how lucky I was to have a dog like Henry.
Many walks have led me to this same conclusion. It’s not because I love the trickling wetness soaking through my layers or enjoy sweating into my socks and shoes on a blisteringly hot day – no! It’s because I often ponder on life itself and use my walkies time wisely.
Today’s epiphany came as I cleared the gorse bushes on the path next to the stream. I was ambling up the gentle ascent to the top of the hill when it occurred to me that humans search for company in many ways. Whether through friendships or forced acquaintances, we require some form of companionship to enable us to function.
Then came the question: do hermits require some form of stimulus to write decent dialogue for their books, or are the voices in their heads enough to produce decent discussions? Of course, Henry had his own opinions on the matter but refused to share them with me…
…which brought me back to my conclusion about companionship. We seek out relationships with people that stimulate us in various ways: some to enhance intelligence; others to broker a love interest or mild infatuation; friendships to re-affirm our self worth and enemies to blame for our shortcomings. Out of all those, can we honestly say we have found someone who truly understands us, body and soul? I wonder.
My mind made itself up and decided that there is no-one out there who truly understands the different perspectives of me; maybe that’s because I’ve been looking in the wrong place. Maybe, after all this searching, I should have looked in a mirror and seen the one true person that understands and accepts me for who I am – myself!
Do you feel the same way, of do you disagree?
Thoughts by Mello-Elo 