Jean and I were looking for something to watch on Wednesday evening and, as is our want, took a browse through the latest films on Top Documentary Films.
There was an intriguing title under the recently added list – People in Motion.
This was how the film was described.
We were hunters and foragers. The frontier was everywhere. We were bounded only by the earth, the ocean and the sky.
Today we go about our business, unencumbered by the frontier. Society guides us, it gives us permission to drive on roads, to stop at red lights, and go on green.
But something is not right.
It often feels as if something is missing. As if the life society has allowed isn’t quite enough. We spend so much time planning for the future it seems we’re forgetting how to live in the moment. How to feel deep and profound satisfaction with life.
It was this feeling that led us to watch people in cities, trying to understand what drives them. They typically did the same three things: walk, sit and shop.
People in Motion is a film showcasing the potential people have to move through time and space. The film is shot in true slow motion edited using a composite technique which illustrates stretches of time in an instant.
Now before you watch the film, and I really hope you do, just reflect on our closest animal companion; dogs. As is stated on the home page of Learning from Dogs,
Dogs live in the present – they just are! Dogs make the best of each moment uncluttered by the sorts of complex fears and feelings that we humans have.
One of the many wonderful ways that dogs enjoy the present is through play.
Rain had raised the flow of water in our creek and earlier on that Wednesday we had given the dogs a run in the rain. Of course, they went immediately to the creek to play in the rushing waters. The top picture shows Sweeny doing just that, Pharaoh equally having fun as below.
The simple joy of playing in the water.
Play is so important for humans as well as dogs.
Now watch the film and be amazed – the music is pretty cool as well.
Published on Dec 31, 2012
Music by…
* Lindsey Stirling:
** songs: Crystallize, Transcendence
* Niklas Aman:
** songs: Stirred Up, Momentum, Up A Storm
* Michael Marantz:
** song: Earth – The Pale Blue Dot
Directed by: Cedric Dahl
Produced by: Bennett Hoffman
Staring: Paul Whitecotton, Brian Orosco, David Agajanian, Lonnie Tisdale, Jacob Siel
Finally, after you have watched the film you will enjoy this interview with film director Cedric Dahl. But watch the film first!!
This beautiful story recently sent to me from Cynthia.
Soldiers in Belarus found a little squirrel and brought it to their Warrant Officer. The squirrel was very weak and close to death. Remarkably, the officer took care of it, feeding it like a baby every four hours.
Now he has left the army and works as a humble taxi driver. But his reward for saving the squirrel is beyond measure, as the following sequence of photographs show so clearly.
Yet another learning message from our animal kingdom.
As I wrote in Monday’s post, this week I was going to “Enjoy the beauty of the world around me and offer a few essays on the meaning of life.”
Hopefully the subsequent essays on Carl Sagan and how our beautiful planet can change our consciousness, under the title of To see is to understand, have partly achieved that aim.
We hear so much that is unsettling that it is easy to lose sight of the core qualities of a sustainable society. And one of the most fundamental requirements is that of trust.
A loving dog owner will most likely take their dog’s trust for granted.
However, think of the incredible differences, at so many levels, between man and dog. Then reflect on how a dog learns to trust a human.
This picture is of Dhalia taken less than a couple of months ago. She was found by Jean in 2005 running wild in the Mexican desert with a companion dog. As Jean explains,
With friend, Suzann, I was driving out to a fishing village to medicate and feed the many starving dogs. The two dogs were in a very desolate part of the desert prowling the roadside for road-kill. We stopped to feed them and give them water. One of the dogs ran off but as I put down food, I saw the smaller brown dog walking slowly towards me.
She was emaciated and full of mange. She looked up at me, ignoring the food. I reached out with my hand and she gently nudged it with her nose.
The food was irrelevant to her at this moment. She just seemed to know that I was there to help. I scooped her up and took her home, curled up in my arms as we drove away.
No better example of a dog instinctively trusting a human, almost immediately.
OK, from dogs to elephants.
I recently became aware of Lawrence Anthony. Here’s a brief extract from WikiPedia:
Lawrence Anthony (17 September 1950 – 7 March 2012) was an international conservationist, environmentalist, explorer, and bestselling author.
He was the long-standing head of conservation at the Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand, South Africa and the Founder of The Earth Organization, a privately registered, independent, international conservation and environmental group with a strong scientific orientation. He was an international member of the esteemed Explorers Club of New York and a member of the National Council of the Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science, South Africa’s oldest scientific association.
Anthony had a reputation for bold conservation initiatives, including the rescue of the Baghdad zoo at the height of the US lead Coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, and negotiations with the infamous Lord’s Resistance rebel army in Southern Sudan, to raise awareness of the environment and protect endangered species, including the last of the Northern White Rhinoceros.
Lawrence Anthony died of a heart attack at the young age of 62. In just a short time that will be a year ago.
In doing research for today’s post, I quickly came across this story.
Lawrence Anthony, a legend in South Africa and author of 3 books including the bestseller The Elephant Whisperer, bravely rescued wildlife and rehabilitated elephants all over the globe from human atrocities, including the courageous rescue of Baghdad Zoo animals during the US invasion in 2003.
On March 7, 2012 Lawrence Anthony died. He is remembered and missed by his wife, 2 sons, 2 grandsons and numerous elephants.
Two days after his passing, a remarkable thing happened! The wild elephants showed up at his home led by two large matriarchs. Separate wild herds arrived in droves to say ”goodbye” to their beloved man-friend. A total of 20 elephants had patiently walked over 12 miles to get to his South African house. [my emphasis.]
Was this true? A quick web search came across this video, (overlook the last few seconds!)
Françoise Malby-Anthony, wife of the late Lawrence Anthony, talks about the entire herd of elephants returning to the main house to pay their respects to their rescuer and friend ‘The Elephant Whisperer’.
A superb reminder of the positives of this funny old species of ours!
The issue of what man is doing to our biosphere is all important, probably above all else. It surely occupies much of the thinking time of me and countless others across the globe. It seems so obvious that we are harming the planet it’s easy to forget that there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who are making a very positive difference in countless ways.
Take Erik Bendl. Not someone I had previously heard of so thanks to Lew L. who sent me the information.
Erik Bendl has walked over six thousand miles for the cause of diabetes awareness. In recent years he and his dog named Nice have walked in over thirty nine states and Washington D.C. to help diabetes organizations and encourage people to get healthy with exercise to control and prevent diabetes. When you see him on the road stop to say hello, walk with him or call him @ (502) 408-5772. (This includes a link to here)
That link (this one) takes you to a place on the website of the American Diabetes Association from which one further learns,
I AM STEPPING OUT BECAUSE…
I am Stepping Out because the American Diabetes Association’s Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes is so much more than a fundraising event to me. It is my opportunity to change the future and make a positive impact in the lives of those who are affected by diabetes. I am committed to walk and raise money in this inspirational event not because 26 million people in the United States have diabetes, but because I personally know some of them, and I want to do something about it.
I am now inviting you to join me in my quest to prevent and cure diabetes once and for all. Chances are, you also know someone who has been affected by diabetes and you already know how important it is to stop this disease. By making a donation on my behalf, you will be helping the Association provide community-based education programs, protect the rights of people with diabetes and fund critical research for a cure.
With your help, we will fight for a future where a parent does not have to hear that their child has diabetes. A future where an adult does not have to face the uncertain times ahead after receiving a diabetes diagnosis. A future where you and I will know that we had a part in making this possible.
I truly appreciate your support. Together we can Stop Diabetes!
Easy to read, even easier to copy and paste into this post. Far, far more difficult to undertake what Erik and Nice have been doing for so long.
Uploaded on Aug 25, 2011
FORT RIPLEY — He may have the world on a string, but Erik Bendl’s highly visible stroll along Highway 371 is hardly a walk in the park. The Louisville, Ky., carpenter and his dog, Nice, are walking along the highway shoulder with a large, inflatable, rubber globe in order to raise awareness about diabetes.
This particular walk started in Sheboygan, Wis., and has Lake Itasca as its final destination. His route took him into Iowa before heading into Minnesota.
“I’m walking until the snow flies,” he said.
Stopping to answer questions from the curious near Eagle’s Landing on Tuesday afternoon, Bendl had a few northbound miles to go until Fort Ripley, his stated goal for that day.
The 49-year-old travels about 10 to 15 miles a day and estimated he had walked about 3,000 miles in 26 states in his five trips with Nice. Asked what kind of dog his non-descript companion was, Bendl replied, “He’s a brown dog.”
But apart from the commitment to his chosen cause, Erik also writes beautifully. Take this recent piece (which I trust Erik doesn’t mind me reposting here.)
Out of a dream
I awoke thinking I was writing about the twelve miles we had pushed against the wind. It took ten hours. Good people stopped and gave us water through the windy, hot day. Never thirsty, backpack still full at the end of the day with the bottles I started out with in the morning. Others brought food for us to eat. Dog biscuits and salad for me. Burgers and chews kept our stomachs full and my pack heavier with extra dogs treats when we stopped for the night.
We met diabetics of all shapes, ages and size. Stubborn ones who are not to be told and dedicated ones who want to grow old. I was told by all what I am doing is an inspiration, still some could not get away fast enough, lest they admit they could do more for themselves.
Everyday someone will tell me as they leave, smiling ear to ear, that I have made their day happier. A bonus which makes my day a joy.
Now I am awake from my sleepy dream. The fog has lifted from my tired senses. I hesitate to read over what I have just written. Will it make any sense? Will it matter? Or Am I still dreaming?
I think I will push the “send” button and forget, like most other dreams.
Why not send him an email to remind him of the universal power of being a good person: erikbendl (at) gmail (dot) com
The widely reported story of a dog ‘adopting’ a baby chimpanzee.
(With big thanks to Chris Snuggs for sending me the pictures)
As a quick Google search finds:
Two years ago in a Russian zoo a female chimpanzee for some reason repudiated and abandoned her baby chimpanzee. When one of the employees of the zoo took the little chimpanzee home it never crossed her mind that her dog, a mastiff, would become a mother for the orphaned chimpanzee and treat the baby as her own child.
Judging by the look on her face at times, she is not quite sure why this particular offspring has hands to grab her with!
The unconditional love of a dog.
Fascinating example of the power of upbringing.
What is so wonderful, and amazing, is how ‘mother’ accepts this strange looking and strange smelling creature as it’s own. Think how important smell is to dogs!
Words add nothing to the beauty of this photograph.
You can see the huge difference in body mass between these two. One swipe, one bite and the little chimp would be toast! The dog’s love for the chimp overrides all!
Just beautiful.
Mummy, what’s that on the wall?
Mummy, your feet are so big …. and not at all like mine!
oooOOOooo
Dear Chris, thank you so much for sending me these pictures. It’s a privilege to share them with LfD readers. It reminds us that in this difficult era, with so many challenges facing us, that there’s nothing that can’t be solved with love, compassion and understanding.
Back on the 14th January in a post called Now we are seventeen, I introduced the two miniature horses, Dancer and Grace, that came to be with us. In that post I mentioned,
Ready to leave
Jean is holding Dancer while Grace is waiting by the fence. Our original plans had been to take Dancer’s sister’s foal Allegra, but she was too stressed to leave her mother so soon; she is just six months old. As an interim, we borrowed Grace, Dancer’s last foal, until Allegra is ready to move homes.
Well yesterday Allegra was ready and came over to join Dancer while lovely Grace returned to neighbour Margo. Just wanted to share some pictures from yesterday.
Margo, her arm on Allegra, and her husband, Clarence, holding Allegra’s mother Keepsake. The two horses had come over together so as to offer comfort to young Allegra, now just 7 months old.
Allegra is on the left getting to know her new grounds. On the right is Aunt Chloe who came to spend the night here with Allegra to minimise any separation anxiety.
Close up of Dancer’s nose!
Don’t believe it! Another horse!!
I’m sure Pharaoh is wondering how long it will be before there are more horses than dogs!
Our beautiful young German Shepherd is one year old today.
How time flies! How life moves on!
On the 8th April, 2012, I wrote a piece about the arrival of Cleo into our home in Payson, Arizona. Then on the 26th April, I added a few more pictures to say how well Cleo was setting in. (I include the links in case you want to look at the pictures in those posts.)
Cleo was born on the 23rd January, 2012. Thus today is her first birthday. She has grown into the most loving, friendly dog and she is adored by all who meet her.
Here’s a picture of Cleo from last year.
Cleo, just 71 days old.
Now two pictures taken this week. This first one showing Cleo lifting her head to the camera.
The next one showing Cleo and Sweeny having one of their frequent ‘kiss ins‘.
Finally, a picture of Cleo enjoying our recent snows.
We are so fortunate to share our lives with these beautiful creatures.
Back on the 10th we had a few days of cold, overcast weather that brought temperatures down below freezing and some snow.
Here’s a scene looking towards the North-East corner of the property, taken just before 11 am.
Then a few days later, on the 14th, the sun was out while the temperatures remained below freezing. Shown clearly as the sunlight catches the frost on the tree.
A few minutes later I swung the camera to take a picture of Dancer munching away in the morning sunshine, just a day after we collected her and Grace.
The horses settled in quickly, adapting to the dogs who were very curious.
Grace and Cleo being nonchalant with each other.
Jean unable to get her fill of her new companions.
And in a very different vein, a sneak photograph taken of yours truly who had collapsed in front of the fire early evening last Friday, quickly becoming a cushion for Hazel.
Learning from Dogs 