Raw

Posted on by dannygregory


I woke up at 4 am and this was in my inbox. I watched it in the dark and it filled my heart.

When I decided to share it with you, I thought I’d make a joke of it. Call it, “Cure for Insomnia” or some such.

But every time I watch it, it fills my heart again. Fills it with peace, with sweetness, with raw simplicity.  I think of my boy, standing on a hillside in Sicily, filming this on his phone, hanging on till the end of an extraordinary moment.

I love the beauty he sees. I hope you like it too.

Suggestion: watch the whole thing. Give yourself a two-minute experience before clicking away.

42 thoughts on “Raw”

  5. Completely awesome. I volunteer with a mental health project and for the past 2 years we’ve had a wellbeing day helping out a local farmer. He uses traditional farming methods, no big machines, and has sheep, cows and pigs.. The first year we spent with the sheep in freezing, pouring rain – I loved every minute and holding up traffic while herding 200 sheep safely across a busy road was one of the proudest moments of my life! This year I wormed cows -I love that I can say that I know how to worm a cow. I think it’s amazing that jack is in Sicily making a lifetime of memories and wonderful that he can share them with you. Isn’t technology great?

    Liked by 2 people

  8. So sweet! It tugged my heart strings at the sound of the first bell. As I continued to watch, a smile slowly crept across my face and ended in a full grin.

    May I please have your (and Jack’s) permission to share this on my blog?

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Almost meditation! Love it and love to know that Jack, a young man, loves this too! For me Italy is a dream country, I even learned to speak Italian just to enjoy every minute when I return to this “open museum” . Thank you fot sharing!

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  11. Danny, I saw a similar scene with goats in Switzerland and was able to track down the place where the bells were manufactured. One could watch the workers creating these lovely musical instruments. I purchased some small ones and they hang on my front door. The sound takes me back to that time in the mountains. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. Haha, you could use the sound as an alarm clock to get up in the morning. Then it would remind you of the video. Or would the thought of many sheep put you back to sleep?
    Great video. Made me want to escape the city and be there right now.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Wonderful! Lucky Jack to be there. I love the bells, and I wonder… we visited my sister-in-law in Idaho many years ago, and got surrounded by an enormous herd of sheep. They were bleating, gutteral sounds that can only be suggested by the word “bah,” and the air was as dense with their cries as the video was full of bells. I wonder if the bells somehow substitute sounds for the sheep, too, they either didn’t need to bleat or were drowned out by the bells. Sheep playing music…

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  15. This one I will keep for a very long time. I have a forever love for sheep, once raised a pet flock, and have been a handspinner of wool for ages. Just watching each sheep so touched my heart.
    Thanks Danny!

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  20. Boy, the loud music was LOUD and there is no way a car or thing could not stop and let them pass. Then I noticed that they must have been climbing uphill since they seemed to work hard until they reached the top and instead of slowing to catch their breath, they seemed to jump for joy by leaping into the path. i wonder if the noise bothers their ears. Then the last few came and with it just a few little tinkling bells – suddenly the music/moment had passed and my ears felt so empty. I was alone and back in my chair sitting. Not running and leaping with friends. Not listening to music. Since we don’t miss something until it’s gone, what if we don’t ever see/hear them to start with? My brain just grew some new cells. I had a beautiful wake up call – thanks!

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  21. Reblogged this on Leafology and commented:
    This is too precious a moment not to share it with a wider audience. Danny gave me the courage to draw every day and now to share his insomnia and best of all his wonderful son, who I feel I’ve watched grow up…well deep bow of gratitude is all I can say. Have a Wonderful Wednesday and I’ll be back with my own words next week. For now, I have to get out in this Indian Summer Day in November and do some pastoral research of my own.

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  24. I’m reminded of a quote I heard while watching “Bill Cunningham New York” on Netflix. Bill said, “He who seeks beauty will find it”. Thanks for sharing.

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  25. Quite wonderful, from the beginning to the end as the bells faded away. That must have been magical at 4am. I have a small flock of sheep – I’m now wondering why it isn’t traditional to put bells on them here in Wales.

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  26. I thought you COULD count the sheep to get to sleep if they weren’t so darn noisey! It is a beautiful gift from your son! Of course you’ve taught him to see the beauty, just as you have us! 😀

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  27. Danny I don’t think you have insomnia, you just have a lot that you want to do. I was up at 0230 working on an idea that Andrea Joseph gave me on one of her last facebook posts. I did some work on it and back to bed about the time you got up. Thanks for the sharing.

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  29. In our multi-tasking, scheduled world, it was refreshing to be there with the sheep and have no place else possible to go and nothing else possible to do! A true “Be here now” moment! Pure Zen!

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  31. Thank you so much, Jack, for taking this beautiful video and thank you,Danny, for sharing it with us! I loved hearing all the different bell tones, watching all the different ways the sheep moved and the occasional little sounds they made. It was also lovely to see a bit of Sicily, my ancestors’ home.

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  33. This is beautiful. Thank you to Jack for creating it and to you Danny for sharing with us. Lovely and very peaceful.

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  34. I, too, experienced a similar parade of goats up on a Peleponesian, mountain road in Greece. My friend, who pulled over to let the goats pass, said that it was a daily route that the herd followed. I bought a small bell while there which I now use when I walk in the woods to warn bears of my approach (it works as I have never seen one) and to help the dogs find me when they are off exploring. The bell’s cheerful tinkle always reminds me of that wonderful few minutes of being surrounded by goats on a mission. Thank you, Jack, for recording your moment and Danny for sharing it with us.

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  36. As soon as it started I knew it was Italy! I loved it. The sheep are so sweet and the sound is about the old way of doing things! I noticed the graffiti and trash which always saddens me when I see it over there–I guess I expect more from Italians than I do from Americans… My husband grew up in Abbruzzo and it is the same there, but no more sheep in his hometown. Thank you for the sweet treat!

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  37. This warmed the cockles of my heart! Quelle surprise…I thought it was Ireland…sheep and bells, green hills and winding lanes…ahhhh Sicily! Charmed!

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  38. On a hillside in Sicily, lambs moving through the countryside filmed by the artist’s son. thought you would enjoy some fresh air from the computer. Jean >

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