Husky Wisdom

‘You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

For a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

Love what it loves.’ from Mary Oliver’s ‘Wild Geese’.

How can I describe the feeling of being in the middle of a pack of fifty or so Alaskan Huskies and preparing a sled for going sledding? The howling; the barking; the defecating; the whining; the leaping. Excitement and delight, erupting all at once; filling the valley; catching my throat; tugging my heart; turning my stomach.

This is unfiltered, primal expression.

All to be expected in Svalbard, one of the wildest places I’ve been; a place humans would never have been able to live were it not for these four legged friends of ours.

My heart races as Tommy, our guide, gives us instructions of how to put the harness on the dogs and then hook them up to the sleds. Unable to compete with the sound of the dogs his words are useless, but we watch intently and follow his lead.

He is fiercely protective of his dogs’ wellbeing. He tells us that such is their love for running, he has to decide when they rest. If he doesn’t, he says, they would run themselves to death. They have to run, it’s their love and it’s their purpose. A life without running for an Alaskan Husky would be too painful and miserable to entertain.

Now, I’m lifting a dog through the yard by its harness, only its hind legs are touching the ground. It’s head snaps left and right, baring teeth to fend off attacks by other dogs, who I presume are bitter or angry or envious for not having been chosen for sledding; not this time. The rawness of this energy is enough to awaken even the most depressed among us.

These animals are not weighed down by expectations. They aren’t trying to control their experience, nor question it. They aren’t divided from their deepest emotions. They aren’t scared to feel. They aren’t hiding anything, nor are they trying to become someone else. These dogs are teachers of pure authenticity.

‘I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive’ Joseph Campbell.

With all the sleds good to go and after strict instructions to not, in whatever circumstance, let go of the sled, the gates open, the dogs lurch forward and we are on the move. The release of all that excitement gives way to a silent satisfaction amongst the pack. After a precarious few minutes of learning how to balance, I’m left with the mushing sound of the sled against the snow and the gentle jingle of the dogs’ leads as they, and I, fall into a contented rhythm.

So much inspiration from these dogs and from only a few precious hours. I’m left with questions that both challenge and guide me:

Dare you give yourself to that which you love?

Will you let life move through you in all it’s raw messiness?

Can you learn to treat ALL your feelings as sacred, even the resistance to your feelings?

We all have a wild self calling for our attention, that we long to hear. In trusting our wildness lies our key to becoming more human; a wiser and more fulfilled one.