Hill Holler

“There are no ordinary moments.” Dan Millman, Way of The Peaceful Warrior.

One glorious Summer’s day I was out in our yard with Pip, our old dog. Pip was a beautiful black Spitz and a sweeter natured pooch you’d be hard pressed to find. We were just sitting on the warm grass, side by side, enjoying the sunshine. Little did I know that Pip was going to teach me something very important that lazy afternoon.

In the middle of our impromptu sunbathing session, Pip suddenly started snuffling around and then digging. I watched her with interest as she dug a hole. Her nose was so deep down into it, all you could see at surface level were brown eyes. Despite her scrabbling efforts, she came up with nothing. With a quizzical look on her face, Pip moved over just a few inches, and started to dig another one beside it…a few minutes later, still nothing.

I chastised her for throwing all the dirt over me, she was digging so close! Undeterred, Pip kept tunneling and snuffling away until, three holes later, she eventually got what she was after. She’d been finding a few bones recently, so I thought that’d be it but it wasn’t. It was a horrible big white grub, about an inch long. I hurriedly backpedaled myself a few feet away, envisioning the grub making a leap for my bare legs in a bid for freedom.

Pip sat back (I swear with a smile on her dirt encrusted face), gripped the grub between her front paws and began contentedly crunching away at it. As if that didn’t disgust me enough, she licked her lips when she finished it, savoring every last morsel.

I shook my head, thinking, “What a lot of work for that wee thing! I’d expected a big bone at least. Dumb dog.” With a passing ruffle of Pip’s head, I got up, sidestepped the holes and went to get on with the gardening, thinking no more about it.

Then came the day when that little scene popped into my head again and I had a sudden light bulb moment.

To Pip, that grub was worth all that effort. Me, I couldn’t see why at the time. It certainly didn’t look much to me, not worth getting into a lather about, anyway. But is that important? That I didn’t see the appeal? Because to her, it was worth all that searching, all that seeking out, all that muck in her nose, getting told to quit, to get what she wanted. She was happy!

That sweet dog knew what she wanted and just went for it. Pip kept digging despite my disapproval and despite not finding it right away either. Even though she’d taken a few wrong turns en route, her determination and perseverance to find something that she couldn’t see but knew was there, eventually got Pip the prize she was looking for.

My opinion, if I could have expressed it to her, I doubt would have mattered a bit because to her it was worth it. What to me was just an ordinary wee grub, was to Pip a wonderful, delightful find. Hidden treasure was there and she’d found it and achieved what she wanted simply because she kept on trying and didn’t give up.

You know, sometimes, that dog taught me more than any self-help or spirituality book ever could…