Eco Living
wisdom from the Paddock by Billie Dean
T
he author of Secret Animal Business and Filmmaker writes about the reincarnated monks in cow bodies who have inspired her to create a new web film series.
I woke up one morning to find a large red steer sleeping outside my bedroom window. I’d had a solid night’s sleep and the steer’s presence somehow made me feel safe. In a time of turbulent cosmic energies, he was like a rock. He was the earth. He made a world of illusion solid. He had come over from next door, disrespecting every fence we had. But somehow there was a bond between me and him. Unhandled, wild and destined for the slaughterhouse, he welcomed me like an old friend. I squatted on my haunches at a respectful distance. In 15 years of living next door to a “meat” farm, I had never had a visitor. Although I had been cruelty free in my diet for decades, and had been around cattle from childhood, it was quite an experience to meet a huge wild steer outside my bedroom window. He stared at me, and when I offered my hand, he licked it with compassion. He was hoping we could be friends. The steer told me he wished to explore my place, that he felt the peace. He had no wish to die. He had a different destiny. Like all the animals I had ever met on the etheric or in person, he had no wish to suffer. He wanted to help me make a difference. “We bring peace,” he said. “And what people also don’t know is that we bring humour and joy to this planet.” Over the coming weeks, the steer brought his friends to visit. I was always delighted when they came - nine of them lumbering down the drive to graze in our vegetable garden and around the house. They gambolled and played, head butted and bellowed and had a joyous cheekiness about them. They always made me feel safe. They always made me feel grounded. I felt like they were protecting us.
film which resulted from that initiative, The Farmer, was inspired by our recent acquisition of the cattle. It is filled with humour and wisdom and was chosen to be in the top ten to be nurtured and made, including a subsidy to go to the Cannes Film Market.
Of course we bought them and their families. I couldn’t let them suffer the ignobility of a savage death in the slaughterhouse. And simply, I loved them. The nine, according to the red steer we named Buddha, were returned monks. They had much wisdom to impart and were delighted to find safe refuge. But then, they knew all along that I would respond to their call for help, so they weren’t fussed. They took their very large herd exploring all our land and finally settled on the richest paddocks across the creek.
Buddha Friends and Family At the same time, we won a grant for a web series called Wisdom from the Paddock, also inspired by and starring Buddha and his friends and family. When it was Buddha’s turn to be filmed, he tried to lick the camera. He wanted to speak to the audience. He stared down the lens and communicated with all his might. I sat in the paddock with our cinematographer and realised the perfectness of following your heart. Saving the cattle wasn’t easy. It stretched our finances and our paddocks. But it was the right thing to do, because, as I’m constantly saying, “All life is precious”. To keep living in synchronicity and harmony there is always an energetic balance. The cattle had become our muse. They knew the joy we got from our creative work and this is their payback. Joy is a vital part of living in the grace of the fifth dimension. As I thought of all that had transpired since I found Buddha sleeping outside my bedroom window, I could have sworn I saw the big steer wink. I quickly pulled my hands together in a bow. Well met Buddha. Namaste.
Smart Film Making In the meantime, my husband Andrew and I, decided to attend a low budget screen initiative with an international script developer. It was our 25th wedding anniversary gift to ourselves. I remember thinking I didn’t need to learn more about low budget because all our renegade films to date were micro budget. But I like to follow the song of my heart, and my heart was singing. The
Billie Dean is a screenwriter/director for Wild Pure Heart Productions. She is an internationally recognised animal shaman, the author of Secret Animal Business, the founder of the Deep Peace Trust and won 2012 Vegan of the Year Award for Outstanding Animal Rights and Rescue. She loves to write about animals and share their humour and wisdom. www.billiedean.com and www.wildpureheart.com
The steer told me he wished to explore my place, that he felt the peace. He had no wish to die.
CONSCIOUS LIVING MAGAZINE ISSUE 89 43
CONSCIOUS LIVING MAGAZINE PRESS READY.indd 43
4/15/13 8:36 AM