A Bit of the Dark Side

I had a pretty good thing going. I found a location in a pasture that was fenced off, with no cows, and a stream running right thru the middle. I set up my irrigation system and transplanted my seedlings. I had a solar panel, battery, timer and water pump that meant i only had to stop by once in June, to cut the males, and again in October for the harvest. It was sweet.

When i came back in June, i was shocked to find a fresh cow pie right in the middle of my patch. I couldn't see any signs of eatage, but it put the fear into me. My plants were unprotected from this bovine eating machine. I cut my males and when i started to leave i saw her. She was munching grass just a short 50 yards from my plants. I felt a rush of emotion as i started chasing her away. It was a combination of fear, frustration and anger. I picked up a rock and bounced it off her ass, yelling to myself, (couldn't risk giving away my position). Under my breath i cursed that poor animal, forming the words in my head... "If you get near my plants, i'm gonna make compost out of your ass!" I meant it and she ran for her life. Before she escaped i got a good look at her ear tag. It was number 327. That number stuck in my mind, being the displacement of a popular chevy engine.

For the next few weeks i would wake up in the middle of the night worrying about that cow. Several times in the past i had been warned by my plants that they were in danger. One time they called me from 300 miles away, so i worried some. Finally, in October i went back, expecting the worst. I worried for nothing, the patch was standing tall. I harvested.

When i went to pick up my hardware, i noticed the rank odor of rotting flesh. As i was retrieving the pickup hose, i found the rotting corpse of that cow in the stream, directly on top of the intake. There was nothing left but a few bones and the hide, but the ear tag, number 327, was clearly visible. Under the most unlikely conditions, the curse i had projected on this poor animal had come true... She had indeed become compost for my plants. I was overcome with sadness and a wave of anxiety.

Coincidence? Not likely. What are the odds that cow just happened to die there instead of somewhere else on the hundreds of acres she had to roam? Then i remembered another instance in my life when i had cursed a person. I had a falling out with a room mate who threatened me when we split. One night he showed up in my dreams with a buddy of his and their rifles. I awoke in a cold sweat when he pointed his gun at me. It was a dream, but it pissed me off. I cursed his ass and told him to stay away from me. Several months later i heard he had been killed in a rollover in his truck. His passenger survived. It was the same guy that was with him in my dream.

Now, i have a long history of having positive things i dream about or wish for with high emotion, coming true in my life, so i don't doubt at all that negative thoughts carry such great power. I don't need more evidence to be careful with my anger.