Today I met my heroine!
It was 15-20 years since we last met in the forest. Her hair has thinned. She no longer wears it in a long grey plaid down her back, but it looks a bit bushy around her hoodied jacket and her step is slightly less agile, but she was accompanied by a black Labrador, like last time.
When our paths crossed again, she asked me for directions, tapping her bamboo stick on the ground looking for a tarmacked road to the left. We were heading in the same direction, and I had the immense pleasure of talking to Gabrielle, who told me about her now 5th guide dog (“Not the top one, a bit too obedient and thus lacking initiative”, she said, and I had a feeling she was describing her own opposite).
Gabrielle is blind since childhood, some 75 years ago. She lives on her own in a neighbour town and once a week, she takes the train and tram to walk her dog in the forest so that it can be a real dog and roam a little.
She moves along the path with relative ease and probably doesn’t need my assistance, but I jump to remove obstacles on our route: a big branch or direct her around a muddy puddle. The thought of walking here in total darkness, trusting friendly walkers is staggering. She claims that people are very helpful and friendly, but since they no longer know the names of the paths, which she knows by heart, directions are thus hard to give when she is lost.
She relies on the feel and the sound of the surface and the width of the path to orientate herself. Her dog does not like her to stray, so when we meet, the dog wanted to take her back to the path they usually follow to return towards the exit of the forest which leads to the tram station.
She had to convince it to take the diagonal dirt road, which I suggested. Most guide dogs are trained for city dwellings and overcoming difficulties in an urban environment. With Gabrielle as an owner, they can enjoy more adventures and freedom.
I had arrived by car and like the sissy I am, was looking forward to putting the electric heater on my seat, after a chilly walk. Gabrielle certainly didn’t want a bum-heated lift to the tram or the train station. She doesn’t like cars, and not the city either, but circumstances have forced her to live in a centrally located house with a small garden, next to the train station.
The courageous energy and inspiration this 80-year-old lady transmitted to me was like a booster dose of the full moon. She was an inspiring example of cittaprasadanam, a serene, clear and luminous mind, described by Patanjali in sutra 1.33. It is a state we yoga students are striving for.
Namaste, Gabrielle!
From the poem ‘The Clearing in The Forest‘, by Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer: ‘In the middle of the forest there’s an unexpected clearing that can only be found by those who have gotten lost.’
Warm greetings,
Emily