On a meditation retreat, we stayed in a cabin built in the middle of a grazing pasture. On the first morning, I strolled down a half-mile gravel drive, contemplating the nature of reality. Several cows lay snoozing nearby. Lying down? Don't they sleep standing up?
Twenty years earlier, I recruited rural students for the University of Kansas. They learned about college. I learned about farms. I overheard a conversation about cow-tipping. "Really?" I asked. "How do you tip a cow over?" "Well, ma'am, they're off balance when they sleep." (Farm kids were very polite.) "So we do it at night." (Also very bright.) "But the owners hate it." (Also mischievous. I liked that.) Still, I couldn't quite picture how it worked.
On the second morning of retreat, I kicked at stones, while questioning the existence of God. A cow looked at me. Did cows bite?
On the last day, I headed down the drive, pondering the finality of death. A cow lumbered toward me. I stopped. He stopped. Lordy, he was bigger than a VW. And way more solid. There was no way in hell you could tip that thing over!
Retreats. Where life's big issues are resolved.
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(Read Cow Epiphany #2)
(Check out another post about cows, titled Show Pies)
Twenty years earlier, I recruited rural students for the University of Kansas. They learned about college. I learned about farms. I overheard a conversation about cow-tipping. "Really?" I asked. "How do you tip a cow over?" "Well, ma'am, they're off balance when they sleep." (Farm kids were very polite.) "So we do it at night." (Also very bright.) "But the owners hate it." (Also mischievous. I liked that.) Still, I couldn't quite picture how it worked.
On the second morning of retreat, I kicked at stones, while questioning the existence of God. A cow looked at me. Did cows bite?
On the last day, I headed down the drive, pondering the finality of death. A cow lumbered toward me. I stopped. He stopped. Lordy, he was bigger than a VW. And way more solid. There was no way in hell you could tip that thing over!
Retreats. Where life's big issues are resolved.
****************************************************
(Read Cow Epiphany #2)
(Check out another post about cows, titled Show Pies)