Cow Tongues
I came across these photos when working on some household organizing. This is me in the first photo sitting on a gentle cow at my grandparents' farm in Wyoming and the other photo is of my grandpa putting me on a cow. He loved to do these sorts of things with his grandchildren. From the dates on the photos I was two years old.
I remember how I loved to spend time with the cows. I would sit outside at night at the bottom of the haystack that was next to the cattle pens. The cattle would quietly munch their sweet smelling hay freshly cut from the fields surrounding the farm. Every now and then one of them would low out to the others. Cattle lowing is a beautiful sound both pensive and mournful. The summer nights welcomed in some warmth and the stars glinted like a promise. I would wish on every shooting star for the affection I so yearned for. Invariably as I yearned, one of the mother cows would lick my hand as I held it out for them. Their milky breath smelled like wonder. Their tongues were warm, rough, and tender. Slowly, slowly, my yearning would quiet and my worries would melt allowing my body to melt with them - deep into the scratchy loose hay that surrounded me. I would drift off to sleep with clover scent and smiling face until my grandma would wake me to come inside to bed where I would dream of floating on cow shaped clouds.
These memories, I hold close to my heart and when I come across them, I feel gentle and open to life in a limitless way as though held supportively in these sensations. Connected and grounded in body, mind, and soul. We need more connection to our senses that go beyond just what we can see. So much of the time we are so hooked in with our thoughts that we miss much of what life has to offer. Our bodies are always living in the present. What a treat it is when we can bring our mind into our body and just experience that connection of sensations even for a moment. Peace.