Saturday, May 19, 2007

Buddha's Birthday at The Gentle Barn

First, a short excerpt from my 2/16/07 post "WYSIWYG".

(And there is update below 08/25/2015).

"A few years ago my son did volunteer service at school, and he worked at an animal shelter called The Gentle Barn. A cow named Buddha was the intake counsellor for rescued animals. They arrived at the shelter overwhelmed, often not eating or sleeping well, certainly not playing. Buddha would sleep in the yard right next to the frightened newcomers, and over a few days the the animals typically recovered enough of their emotional balance to function again, even interacting with humans. Buddha was not trained to do this, she just did.

Somehow Buddha emanated to these animals "Everything is Okay." No words were exchanged, no subliminal phrases or positive affirmations were repeated. Pigs and turkeys alike were rehabilitated into enjoying a peaceful existence.

So if you are stressed and crazy, tearing your hair out at learning internet marketing strategies, DON'T HAVE A COW! Take a sleeping bag over to The Gentle Barn and have a slumber party with Buddha. Okay, so I'm kidding, but for all I know people do that.

And yeah, they will want you to shovel a little sh....doo-doo while you are there. The stuff of life."

Today I would like to add a clip re "Buddha's Birthday"! Greetings!

"Hi, I'm Buddha the cow and it's my turn to have the spotlight! Because it's my Birthday!!! Come celebrate with me on Sunday from 10am - 2pm at The Gentle Barn.

I know that you must already know me because of my picture in LIFE Magazine. Did you see the article Friday, April 13, 2007? What an amazing picture of me and some of my barnyard friends. We are still getting emails and calls from people who have read the article and we now have interest from 42 people wanting to start Gentle Barns across the country and one in Canada. If you missed it, you can check it out on the web site.

We are open to the public every Sunday for you to come see me and give me a big birthday hug and visit all of other animals. Our "Peace Enhancement program" is still growing, now up to 25 regular monthly groups, up from 22 last month and growing toward our goal of 40, during the week and we are always looking for volunteers to come and brush us and help care for us on Sundays." Go to http://www.thegentlebarn.com and select 'newsletter' to see Buddha's photo and read more Gentle Barn news clips.

Today, August 25 2015 I saw The Gentle barn on the news! it is their 16th anniversary and I'm so glad their story was covered. There is now a second Gentle Barn in Tennessee and hopes to have one in every state. 

4 comments:

Jenny said...

How cool is that?! Wish I lived near so I could visit the farm...sounds really neat!

Anonymous said...

I'm happy to say your post was featured in today's edition of the Simply Delightful! Carnival! http://treehousejukebox.wordpress.com/2007/06/12/simply-delightful-carnival-2/

Anonymous said...

This is actually fairly common in the animal world. Very sweet story.

Unknown said...

it's true! Buddha has this effect on you, I speak knowing first hand the calm brought on by the presence of this beautiful animal.