BEYOND THE FENCE

“Just stop digging!” Curse this frenzied journey to the centre of the earth. What secret navigational coordinates indicate a prized cache buried here? Oh, to have discovery as a hardwired, quintessential mandate. A high energy, all encompassing, thoroughly convincing and self – confident mission to love blindly, serve unconditionally, dig vociferously and destroy innocently. Envy of such single minded determination. Loving the sock, the ripped serviette, the table leg and its seriously angry owner simultaneously seems effortless.

Mixed somewhere in the dried dog food, hides a secret ingredient for daily vigour and endless vitality. Half a cup three times a day until 6 months. How much for over 40? Fearlessness underpins ‘fetch’, all wrapped up in a yellow rubber ball, stick or half eaten plastic bottle. Hesitation abandoned, confidence abounding, adventure aspirational.

An audacious self-belief and worthiness oozes from every greeting, lick, tummy rub or request for treats. Vulnerability is erased with the stroke of a hand. Self-evaluation, wallowing or pity evident only after discipline for brazened defiance of rules, requests for peace and demands for returned wet washing. Life is a wholehearted “yes”, until a resolute baritone voice enforces a fleeting “no”. Love is communal and, with the exception of a bone protecting military offensive, generally unselfish. Confidence a constant companion attached to a lead with a road to anywhere, along which curiosity breeds courage, illusions of canine grandeur and magpie domination. Self – doubt lies unchartered, abandoned, and expired alongside the squeaker dismembered from it’s toy.

Fowl feathered friends present prospects for opportunity. Stern admonishment equating to exploits temporarily postponed. Discovery or defiance? The ever present yard fences shift paradigms, forming horizons for adventure, solid motivation and innovation for excavation and escape. An infectious enthusiasm mandates enquiry, exploration, and embrace of the new.

Trudging to the garden shed, I survey my options. What tools do I have for a scandalous approach to enquiry? For infectious enthusiasm? What will be useful for life’s tug of war or punctured tennis balls?  A saw will prove useful for a hole in the fence, or a ladder for a quick ascent. A chainsaw rapidly removes dead wood creating pathways – a permission slip for adventure. Fertilizer provides ingredients for new shoots of wholeheartedness and a shovel imperative for expedited uncovering of long buried self-belief. Loading the wheelbarrow my determination is reassured by the breeze of a wagging tail. A heartening encouragement that growth is directly connected to my willingness to cast aside doubt and scale the limitations of the fences in my mind. It only takes a sniff.