‘Donkeys have been used for transporting people and goods since biblical times. You probably know that a donkey is an ass is a donkey.
If we are to learn from the ass, we will look around us when someone is stubborn and ask, ‘why might that be?’ and ‘is there a good reason?’ before we try and force them. That makes sense doesn’t it? It’s funny how we don’t always put ourselves in others’ (horse)shoes, juding them instead by our own habits, standards or preference and therefore perhaps misunderstanding their reasons for not doing something. However, I am assured by owners that if a donkey refuses to do something there will be a good reason, that it’s all about self preservation. Known to be good at kicking, donkeys also have a reputation for stubbornness and this is usually regarded with derision. A cardboard donkey, spotted in a shop in Athens, Greece Stubborn as a mule Sculpture from the Camino Santiago de Navarra, courtesy of Spanish Fiestasĭid you know? Donkey’s Back (lombo da burro) is the name of a rock in the Lapa de Pombas, a fishing port on the west coast of Portugal just south of Almograve? Local fishermen guide their entry and exit to the harbour by using this and other such masses. Merrifield trod in Stevenson’s footsteps and he too discovered the unhurried pace of the beast. In his book ‘The Wisdom of Donkeys: Finding Tranquility in a Chaotic World’, Andy Merrifield wrote about how he would watch Grebouille graze in the field for hours, as a sort of meditation. 121 (TW: torture, holocaust) Donkey detail from Otoño (Autumn), a painting by Francisco do Barrera 1638, which hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts, Seville, Spain ‘ Beatrice and Virgil which, among other things, features a particularly enjoyable conversation between Beatrice, who is a donkey, and Virgil, who is a howler monkey, about the nature of a pear (that is, the fruit). It’s as firmly yet lithely connected to the earth as a birch tree. ‘I noticed that a donkey has an appealing terrestrial solidity – it’s a good solid animal – yet its limbs are surprisingly slim. I can see the details of the landscape, I can feel the ground under each heel and toe, I have time to muse.
I have discovered that slow is good for me. In order to make it through a walking day of around 20 kilometers with a rucksack on my back, I too engage a modest pace. When he walked there, he was forced to go slowly so that his donkey didn’t “browse”. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a book called ‘Walking with a donkey in the Cevennes’ (France).
Children love donkeys, Jupiter Artland Xmas 2019 Donkeys = go slow You can listen to Funky Donkey by the Beastie Boys while you read this if you so desire.
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