Don't Look Down

WARNING!!!! This post is not for the faint of heart or those who cry easily at the mistreatment of animals. Viewer discretion advised.

I live in the country- I mean in the booneys. Each morning for the past 2 weeks I have started my day with exercise consisting of walking briskly outside in the dirt and gravel road that is a large part of my front yard. While walking I pray aloud and fellowship with God.

Exercise pros tell you that while walking, to hold up your head and tighten up your abs for a good work out. You would not believe how many people I have walked with can not hold the weight of their own head up or use their head for momentum in leaning forward cheating their legs out of a true workout.

So, you are suppose to hold up your head and not look down.

I on the other hand would be foolish not to glance down at the ground every once in a while due to the fact that in my country fresh air filled enviroment, there is always a threat of a snake-poisonous and non poisonous- just hanging out or crossing the road. One of my first posts for this year was on= while sitting on my front steps a black runner snake came within an inch of my left foot. Tuesday, my husband walked out of the front door to find a baby "rattlesnake pilot" within his third intended step. He stomped it viciously, happy in killing it far too much for my comfort level. But, snakes are a threat people, sorry death is the hoped for outcome.

Any hoo; today while glancing down for safety every so often, words cannot describe the carnage of nature I witnessed.

In the wee hours of the night, a medium sized frog met it's death as tire tracks in the sandy rocky road indicates. Smashed flat with ants attacking in the tire tracks was the frog, guts being enjoyed by an array of insects.

Larger than life as I walked on was the exoskeleton of a huge beetle. Shiny still, but lifeless. How its death came about I do not know.

Inching to and from was a mangerie of caterpillars, worms and other long multilegged creatures. Dodging them was impossible and as I circled my excercise loop I saw their squished bodies left motionless in my tennis shoe foot print.

Too my left I passed a well executed lump of dog poo. I hate this wandering hobo of a neighbor's dog who seems to delight in going to the bathroom in my yard in various mean spirited places. He urinates on all of my husband's tires. We do not like this dog and he seems to intend to keep it this way. I had to leave my exercise momentarily to get a shovel and cover the lovely dog's visitation with sand or I would have just heaved the non existent breakfast in my stomach.

Needless to say on my fourth loop I had become quite nauseaous. This was more like some weird nightmare than the beauty of nature and the joy of healthy exercise and living. My face was frowned and I knew I was suppose to love and marvel at God's creation but, I was just disgusted.

I told myself "just don't look down" but this was hard to do because I knew lurking just below was all of this ugliness.

I thought about people and their lives. Did I know anyone with such ugliness surrounding them that was just a part of their everyday life? Was this my life and "I was just refusing to look down?" Should we as people strive to "just not look" down so we won't see the ugliness of the world?

Did I want to be one of those people with their heads up in the air not acknowledging the poor innocent frog that met his death by the rolling crushing pressure of the well oiled machine. Did I want to ignore those that poo in my life for my eyes to see when they have a world of other options for pooing and peeing? What significance did covering it up play in my life? Was it moving on, living with it, or showing that it is not as significant as the poo'er thought it would be to me? And what about those that feed on those that are broken and beaten? Was this just a part of the circle of life. And finally, what about the injured and dead I left in my own footprint in my day to day activity?

I told you this was not for the weak. Wow, I will have a lot to meditate on won't I. But when I don't care anymore, when I stop asking myself the hard questions, then I know I will have joined that ecosystem that lives in the area of "Don't Look Down."