I was looking for a file for an assignment on Hamlet this afternoon and came across this thing I wrote for one of my classes a few years ago. I’ll often write alongside my students on an assignment, or model something before-hand. But I’d forgotten about this. I thought I’d share it here since it has to do with Peat, and because it’s not only about him or birds. The other thing I talk about might connect somehow to bird hunting. Maybe it doesn’t. But it’s part of who I am, or was, or will be. What’s beautiful to you? As avid bird hunters, surely we see many things outside the terrain of partridges that move us. For this assignment, I asked students to 1) define beauty, and 2) describe the most beautiful thing. This was my response to both.
Definition of beauty: beauty is a feeling of being overwhelmed by pleasure in something. It could be a thought or idea, a physical object, a landscape, a smell, a whole person or creature, an experience, a sound that lasts just an instant or an entire concert of music, or a physical sensation. It could be almost anything, but whatever it is, words cannot adequately describe the beauty. Words fall short. Otherwise, beauty wouldnāt be beautiful; it would be ordinary.
The most beautiful thing to me is: itās a toss-up between two things. The first is watching my puppy go on point, and the second is watching a stranger help someone who is having trouble with something. I picked the first because I love Peat (my puppy) but canāt explain what that love is made up of except to say that itās the whole experience of getting him at 7 weeks old and wanting to kill him nearly every day for his first year or so but working through that, and realizing that every night he calms down and presses himself against me in bed and passes out from exhaustion and has fur thatās softer than God should have been allowed to make; this little guyās bird-finding instincts are miraculous and when heās looking for them and suddenly finds them what he does is even more miraculous and beautiful: he freezes instantly in the weirdest posture, with his neck bowed to the ground and his nose up, and one of his front paws is lifted daintily off the ground, and he will not move until the birds fly. See, Iāve tried to explain whatās so beautiful about this, and even if I wrote ten million words, they couldnāt adequately express the feeling of beauty to me. The second thing is similar to the first in that I canāt really describe how moving it is to see a stranger help someone in need. Thereās just something about seeing that that makes me feel the world is okay and that people really are good, or can be. In a world where you usually notice how mean people can be, and how most people, strangers, seem to be out for themselves and screw everybody else (especially when theyāre driving!), itās overwhelming to see the opposite, partly because itās kind of rare but also because it shows we can love without judging, and thereās something about that that is so good I could never in a million years describe it.
Bob: You have described your personal ābeautyā quite eloquently. Thanks for sharing.
Good assignment for everyone.Enjoyed!
My wife and I are picking up a Brittany pup in a few weeks. Ive spent the last month or so watching / reading all I can about the breed and how to train her (going to name her Britt) to hunt. I ran across your videos and then searched your site and read most of your articles in your blog. Loved everything I watched and read. Ive learned a great deal from the McMicheal’s. Spend a lot of time with her , teach some boundaries, try not to kill her the first year, and take LOTS & LOTS of pictures/videos. Britt will be family first and hunting companion second. Ive come to realize that Im going to need as much or more training than she will
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Now for the assignment –
In response to defining what beauty is, I remembered something I had read years earlier about how you cannot describe/define it, it must be experienced for yourself. The example I liked best is describing what salt tastes like. It really cannot be done. You can tell me everything it doesn’t taste like (sour, tart, sweet, etc) but the only way for someone to know how it tastes it to experience it for themselves. The same thing applies to beauty. Its futile to try and describe something that must be experienced. With that said, the most beautiful thing to me is constantly changing. Its in the moment. Obviously I find my wife, kids and grandkids beautiful, but I also try and find the beauty in everyday little things. I love the smell of fresh coffee (can’t stand the taste), the smell of sagebrush after a rain, the shadows that are cast on the hills just before the sun sets. Change is good. I look forward to spring after winter, I love summer but by the end of August Im sick of it. I love winter but by the end of February Im sick of it also. I love when my kids and grandkids come to visit but Im also glad when they leave. The most beautiful thing to me is in constant change. I do have a mental image though of Britt curled up by the woodburning stove while Im struggling to stay awake after a day of chasing birds. Now that will be beautiful.
Wow, Don thanks for your long, thoughtful response to this post! Over and above for sure! Please send me a photo of Britt when you get her. I love seeing pups develop; we’re hoping for another next spring!