07 Jul The Space & Time to “Just Be”
Intern Bridget shares how her time at Chenoa Manor has impacted her perspective on plants, animals and herself, as she’s learned to be in the present and truly experience the world around her.
Throughout these weeks, my eyes have deeply been opened to the world of plants, animals, AND to human beings who live their lives with extreme drive and passion.
Everyday when arriving at Chenoa Manor and walking through the beautifully decorated front gate, I feel as though I immediately encapsulate this sense of peacefulness. I believe that this comes from the breath of fresh air that I take time to inhale every trip up and down the long stretch of green pasture.
I look around and feel so at home in an environment with such complex, grateful, brilliant, and dynamic animals surrounding me. I wish I could say I have always felt this moved and inspired by animals, but the truth is, this internship has been unbelievably transformative in ways I am not sure I had imagined.
I feel as though I have developed a strong sense of awareness. This has surprised me, as I have spent much time in shelters and various animal-intense atmospheres in the past, most of which I have observed and learned so much from. I concur that the diversity of animals on Chenoa as well as having the space and time to think and to “just be” has led to this feeling of a deepened awareness.
While in the past few weeks there have been moments more memorable and exciting than others, often when writing down what I feel like I had accomplished in the prior week at Chenoa, I reflect upon the shorter occasions when I sit down in a pasture, by the bank of the stream, or on a random stump to think, observe, watch, and to listen. To think about my happiness in the moment. To observe the interactions between animals. To watch the vultures circle above, high in the sky, or by keeping one eye on Jamar at all times. To listen to the horses whining, the pigs grunting, the goats calling to each other.
These are the moments that I love the most, the ones that add to this feeling of contentment, to this awareness. In the past, I have experienced what I thought was the freedom of living in the present, but after working and spending my summer days on 25 acres of idyllically raw land, I have realized that alas THESE feelings of pure joy in the moment is what living in the present feels like. It feels invigorating, and I feel so excited to continue this journey…