Fourth Form of Madness

Have you ever seen a greyhound run freely on a beach?  It is quite a beautiful sight.  The greyhound is built by nature to run.  You only have to look at a greyhound in full flight to understand this.  Everything in its body and being seems to align when it runs and if I ever needed a physical symbol of what freedom looked like, for me, it would be a greyhound running freely.

This is quite in contrast to a greyhound running around at track chasing a stuffed bunny.  There is no freedom there only competition, domination and pointlessness.  Even if the greyhound ever did catch the bunny – what then?  To what end?  The whole race would be set up again and the dogs would be set off on yet another race.  Around and around the track they would continue to go, never making any progress only money being made off their efforts.  Sound familiar? 🙂

The first time I saw a greyhound in full flight along a beach was a few years back.  I had taken my beloved poochie for a stroll along the local shoreline.    I love my stumpy little, big boned dog.  I love to see him run and play with the other dogs as they chase waves, balls and anything else in the vicinity.  But greyhound my dog is not.  I was just admiring my heavy set little terrier tear his way down the beach after a poodle, wondering why the backend of his body never seemed to talk to the front of his body (he’s a lot like me in that way) when out of no where shot this streak of galloping beauty.  It was just like the world started moving in slow motion as I watched this vision, this grace move before me.  That dog ran because it loved to run. Is there anything beautiful in the world?

When that dog ran before me I could see it was in direct communication with it’s nature, and I saw the beauty it created in the external from the reservoir of joy from it’s internal and something spoke to me in a language that I’m am not sure I fully understand but am keen to learn.  A language that is there for us all if we just quieten down long enough to listen.

I vowed that day to try and be more like the freely running greyhound rather than the track racing kind.  Somedays I come closer than others but I don’t stop trying.   Sometimes life seems to be more about the intention than the action.  If I ever lose heart amongst the hustle and bustle of modern day living, I just close my eyes, breath gently and evenly, and imagine a beautiful greyhound running freely down the beach.