A Vigilant Companion

One beautiful clear morning in early summer, I found myself pacing dirt trails within the Garden of the Gods in Colorado. A work trip had brought me to the area. Though my endurance was nowhere near where it had been in the past, I connected with this terrain. It energized me and I felt as though I could run endlessly.

Many years ago I discovered a love for running trails. It can be challenging but I feel an odd sense of recharge and renewal connecting with the uneven terrain of dirt, rocks, and Bob Ross type scenery. So when out in nature personally I prefer to remain alert by not wearing headphones. I opt to retain my hearing capacities with minimal distraction and take in the ambient noise. Call me old fashion, I guess.

Now, I do understand why many people use ear phones during exercise activities. It provides a form of entertainment during activity, helps to break up long distances with music as a distraction, and can lighten up the boredom of long monotonous miles. However, for myself, they leave me feeling claustrophobic and ‘disconnected’. And it is just that, a distraction; but again that’s just my personal preference. On very rare occasion, for extra long outings, I have also used earphones.

So on this fine day I explored the area, trudging up and around rocky, red dirt trails, flying down declines, and enjoying the scenery as I paced along wherever my feet would take me. I always try to remain alert on the lookout for the occasional snake, rabbits that come out of nowhere to freak you out, and possibly a mountain lion.

About half way through my run I came upon a long descending single track that bottomed out and then slowly inclined again toward a massive rock formation. I picked up speed carefully traversing my way down the trail. Some distance up ahead I noticed a hiker walking with a companion – her dog.

She walked in the same direction I was running and so did not notice my approach from far off. I had to slow my pace and call out “Trail”, to alert of my oncoming presence so she could make room and allow me to pass safely. The woman did not move.

The dog, however, kept looking back at me. As I got closer I noticed that she wore headphones. I hoped that she would soon come to realize my approach and allow me to pass. Augmenting the situation, the narrow single track trail became such that it was difficult to simply hop off the trail and go around. A sharp rock wall now bordered the left of the trail. To the right, a barrier of bushes.

I now found myself at a trot. My path was blocked. “Trail,” I called out again politely. No response. What could I do? The dog slowed and looked back at me once more. Our eyes connected. He looked up to his owner as if to say, “Ehm, excuse me… master. Could you look behind you?” and then back to me again, “Hold on I’m trying.” Yet, he did not bark. He wore a mild composure and appeared to be a really good dog.

The woman scolded her companion, “C’mon!” The dog continued forward. I got closer but kept a safe distance. I didn’t want to make it awkward, startle or freak her out and possibly get maced in the face, tasered, or whatever bad luck would dish out. Hey, you never know. My attempts to call out and alert of my presence had not been effective thus far. She must have had really good noise canceling headphones, but she also did not look around. She was laser focused on the trail straight ahead.

The dog slowed again turning its head to look back at me once more. Its eyes spoke a sincere, “I’m sorry mister.” The woman, now frustrated, pulled the leash and raised her voice, angrily scolding her furry companion once more. “What are you doing!?” She huffed.

At this point glancing down to the side at her dog she finally noticed my presence. She produced a small jump and a surprised, “oh” and stepped to the side to let me pass. No apology. I simply offered an amused smiled and proceeded on my way.

I know my posts can come across like a Saturday morning cartoon back in the 80s where they always point out a moral at the end. Well, so be it.

Contemplating this experience later, I derived some general observations; and a number of both temporal and spiritual lessons impressed my mind. We live in a noisy, loud world, and people are distracted. So many diversions exist pulling to each and every one of our senses that we easily lose focus, or maybe focus on the wrong things. We often diminish our self-awareness and can miss the more important things going on around us.

Look around. Choose a distraction and fill in the blank: _______ So many things can serve a good purpose at the right place and at the right time; but like everything they can also become a detriment if we are not careful.

In this situation, the headphones and whatever sound was playing in them, tuned this woman out from her surroundings. It disconnected her from the environment. I speak to personal observations and do not attempt to be judgmental here. Maybe she was playing calm classical music. Who knows? Regardless, her sense of hearing and awareness were compromised. She put herself into a distracted, inattentive place when her surrounding environment was just the opposite.

The dog in this story acted as a trustworthy, vigilant companion. His mild and gentle attempts to provide a voice of warning, on more than one occasion, proved inspiring to me. However, he offered guidance to the woman’s inattentiveness and it went unnoticed and was rejected. She missed the warnings.

Whether one believes in the Spirit of God, personal conscience or not, this idea is applicable. The principle remains the same. There are the “vigilant companions” in our lives trying to get our attention. It may be God trying to warn us, or guide us. It may be a friend or family member attempting to help us. It may be our kids yearning for much needed attention.

Yet, when we wear those proverbial “headphones” that distract, whatever it may be, our life gets noisy, we tend to tune out and do not hear the voices of warning. I believe that sometimes God tries to guide and warn us, and we willfully rebel and ignore it, or we simply are too distracted that we do not hear. Sometimes we can hyper-focus too much on something that we miss the important things going on in the world around us. We can easily miss the meaningful things trying to get our attention.

Sadly, I have been in situations where I was like the woman in this story. I ignored the faithful dog and realized it too late. I’ve tried to learn from such experiences and ask myself am I listening? What can I do to minimize the distractions? Am I paying attention to the “companions” in my life trying to get my attention? Am I patient with those I observe missing the signs?

In another aspect, things often block our path in life. At times we might have the option to find another route. Other times perhaps it requires us to endure and exercise patience. I have found that things usually tend to work out in the end.

If we have the self-awareness to identify the noise and distractions filling our lives, and have the discipline to minimize them, we can also put ourselves in a position to hear and notice the meaningful things that we might be missing.

Take the time to quiet yourself whenever and wherever necessary to be able to hear the guiding voices in your life. Be patient when your path becomes blocked. Beautiful trails await, and are much more enjoyable when one minimizes the distractions and listens closely. On this trail, I’m just glad I didn’t get maced in the face.