“We are not made for ourselves alone, we are made for the good of all our fellow creatures.”
~Saint Gregory the Theologian
There really isn’t much of a difference between what I now ‘do’, and being a shepherd.
And, strangely much of my heritage is built on this form of animal keeping, farming, and or animal husbandry. Shepherds are famously – and rather obviously – depicted and honoured in the Bible many times over and as a larger, overall metaphor for the ‘flock’ – the biblical connotations are vast and prominent, almost too vast for this ramble.
A shepherd is a humble, honest, hardworking man – the term ‘simple’ may even come to mind, in the best of ways, and probably an ever more important theme to echo throughout this ramble.
A man who toils for many hours in the elements; the harsh sun, the bitter cold, pelting rain, and blanket like snow; he shows up regardless of the elements. As well as his ‘internal elements’ –
And, these are oftentimes much more challenging than the outer elements.
He tends his flock.
He keeps all of his ‘family’ safe from any dangers – predators, injury, poison, and even jealousy from other shepherds.
As per Wikipedia, “The duty of shepherds was to keep their flock intact, protect it from predators and guide it to market areas in time for shearing. Unlike farmers, shepherds were often wage earners, being paid to watch the sheep of others. Shepherds also lived apart from society, being largely nomadic.”
“Apart from society, being largely nomadic”, incredibly relatable.
His hands tell a story all of their own, of his hard, yet loving work.
He carries his crook or staff, and a satchel with some old world type bread, some hard cheese and water (sweet wine too at times), tea when it is bitterly cold and possibly a book for some company.
The bare essentials are enough.
He wants for nothing more.
While he is aware that the wolf, or eagle are his sworn enemies, he does not hate them.
He understands that they too have a family to provide for, and besides, hate clouds the heart and is the direct antithesis of Love – a shepherd cannot work with and be amongst his animals with anything but Love encompassing his being.
Finding a cool mountain stream or spring, provides a welcome reward in his day to drink, and reflect upon where he is headed, and how far he has already come.
He wonders the mountain slopes alone, day in and day out, for his flock to graze on the sweetest, and best grasses, and wild herbs.
It’s just him, his thoughts and his livestock in his vast, humbling surrounds.
His driving force every single day is the furthering of his flock and their young – his livelihood.
His dogged commitment and determination to further his animals is tangible, and honourable.
Oftentimes his mind wonders and unpacks his own life as to how it has unfolded, and also what still lies ahead of him.
The mind is often like a rope rolled up and coiled, yet by walking in nature, and allowing Her to do Her part, it unravels in the gentlest of ways.
Perhaps it could be his Peripatetic ancestors whispering their wisdom through him whilst walking.
Oftentimes, it is past and present love that greedily hog his minds attention, and Mother Nature plays Her part here too in helping him understand aspects he wouldn’t quite be able to work through at home.
He has learnt that being unfaithful to his Love is a direct insult to God, for Love is what God truly is, and thus being unfaithful or adulterous to Love is a microcosmic representation of the greater unfaithfulness to God.
A shepherd lives in faith;
Faith in the rains to come.
Faith in the grasses to sprout.
Faith in his flock to birth.
A shepherd lives and walks by faith. Blind faith.
A shepherd is a keeper, a protector, of those that cannot defend themselves adequately – a guardian of sorts.
He has the softest, purest heart borne out of his devotion, care and love he has for his flock.
Yet, paradoxically he has a harshness borne from his harsh life, and the hard decisions he often has to make pertaining to his flock.
He sees death at birth, and injuries to the old and maimed that oftentimes cannot be mended.
Many do not understand his life or his journey, but he does, and he knows that this is all that matters.
Feeling at home in the mountains and valleys, he feels closest to God there too.
Not surprisingly.
The ascetic life is not too dissimilar;
lead a simple existence, eat and drink simply and sparingly, humble oneself, walk much, look after others more than oneself, give thanks, give of oneself to a greater cause, connect with nature and to the Source, and be content in silence.
He learnt many years ago to learn the language of silence, it is distinct and clear, and there is a vast ocean of knowledge therein.
Being caught often in the trying elements, he has learnt to find the lesson in each downpour or blizzard, rather than merely seeing it on its face value and lamenting its arrival;
In an electric storm, he noticed that if he looked long enough and carefully enough into the Lightning’s flash and Light, he would see things he never quite saw before, in ways he couldn’t have seen before.
Or, in the monotonous, dreary snowfall, he has learnt to see the cleansing powers of the slow, melting snow, for his livestock’s feed and future, and for his own cleansing catharsis.
Nature has allowed him to draw on Her many powerful lessons, and he has found strength in Her many metaphysical metaphors too;
One dreary, rabidly cold August evening, he was overcome with emotion, confusion, and yet conversely a healing sense of hope.
He was tending to a sick member of his animal family, who had suddenly become unwell and the outlook was not looking promising at all.
Cradling his beloved animal and friend in his arms and lap, he looked around for assistance knowing full well he was alone.
Suddenly, a voice whispered some calming guidance, and the animal made eye contact with him for the first time in her troubled state, looking deep into his soul.
The voice said, the animal will be fine but a few conditions were listed for the Shepherd to promise to commit to, and adhere to, for the rest of his days.
He agreed instantly.
And within seconds, the animal was on her feet, completely healed and healthy again, moving freely.
His life was forever altered, and he wrote the commitments down in his little notebook, vowing to honour them until the day arrived for him to close his eyes.
He acknowledged full well that there will be challenges and tempting moments offered to him to veer away from his vows.
But he also knew that in accordance with ones stature, the temptations will arrive, and keeping his faith and promise, he will endure and come out the other side better for it.
He learnt that when the struggles arrive, to be patient.
To not grow weary.
And most importantly, to never turn back.
Turning back, giving in, and retreating would remove all the power he ever harvested and earned over the years, and would put him right back at the start.
There is a constant battle, and an everyday war being waged within, this takes place within every single individual.
Each day is a new battle, and one must be armed with the adequate hope, faith and belief that they will conquer it again.
It seems a curse that haunts all Shepherds lives, the curse of being alone.
But is it really such a curse?
Is solitude a curse?
He is not convinced it is.
There is an incredible power to be found and tapped into in the vast spaces of quietudes.
‘He who climbs the highest mountains, laughs at all tragedies.’
Never a more appropriate quote to have stumbled upon for the Shepherd.
He understands the far reaching metaphor, as it translates to much of his existence, and gives his pain meaning which affords him the clarity to glimpse what lies beyond –
What the heart truly desires.
When man climbs, and summits his own mountain, his soul is cleansed almost as each step that lands firm and true on his slow yet steady ascent to the top.
Oftentimes up in the harsh, high peaks he says to himself;
‘A life above the clouds.’
That’s what it feels like when he is up there.
It always has felt that way.
Especially when he was escaping his old life, for a momentary yet necessary respite from the oddities of the noisy world.
But now, this is his life – A life above the clouds.
Always chasing the horizon.