Singin' in the rain

Sunday: Barefoot bushwalk with Star my beautiful collie/shepherd X dog. We were in one of our favorite spots - where I used to sit on a rock overlooking a valley and allow her as a puppy to go exploring in the bush below me till she was nearly out of sight and then call her back for a treat. That was nearly 14 years ago and great training for her. Later on I could just sit there and read or meditate and she'd go off for 10 or 15 minutes and always come bounding back. I never had to worry about her.

Now she's getting on and can't negotiate some of the higher rocks but she still comes alive whenever we're in the bush. On Sunday it was wet and everything was glistening and fresh. Star went off to the side of where I was sitting - sniffing around over some rocks I'd never really noticed much when I'd been there with shoes on. Remembering my chiropractor telling me that climbing barefoot over rocks at the beach is a great way to counteract the harmful effect of shoes and flat surfaces on the human spine, I joined Star clambering over the rocks. I'd already been feeling exhilarated from the feel of the bush-track underfoot - so alive with a multitude of textures, but this was something else. It was like a real workout for my feet - all while discovering a new, magical fragment of the planet.

Then suddenly it was raining - bucketing down - and we scrambled back along the track to a cave we'd often sat out showers in. Looking out from the cave, we could have been alone in the world... with all the little critters of the bush of course. I started to practise the breathing techniques my new singing teacher just gave me at my first lesson with him last week and then I let loose and sang. Somehow it felt like I could really let go in a way I never do under normal conditions. Just me singing to an auditorium of Angophoras and Scribbly Gums. 10 minutes or so and the deluge was over. But I know there's a voice in here that I've never let out.