We sat down with Doris on the fell this week to get her thoughts on the escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Doris was near the tormentil.
We asked Doris what she made of the Iran situation.
Doris grazed.
We asked whether she was worried about regional destabilisation and the potential for wider conflict.
Doris moved to the section of fell above the wall and grazed that.
We asked whether she had any thoughts on the geopolitical implications for European energy markets.
Doris found a patch of fine-leaved fescue she appeared to find particularly good and stayed with it for several minutes.
We noted that she seemed untroubled.
Doris was untroubled.
We pointed out that many people were finding the news cycle difficult to sit with: the sense of events accelerating beyond anyone's control, of large forces moving in directions that no individual could meaningfully influence, of ambient dread becoming the background frequency of daily life.
Doris continued grazing.
Doris has grazed this fell for six years. In that time there have been multiple crises, several escalations, two elections, four prime ministers, a pandemic, and at least three moments that commentators described as "the most serious situation in a generation."
The fell has not changed. The tormentil is still there. The lapwings nested in April. The wall is standing. Brian's east corner is improving. The things Doris can affect, she affects. The things she cannot, she does not attempt to carry.
Doris is not ignoring the Iran situation.
Doris has assessed the Iran situation and found it to be outside the fell.
Everything outside the fell is, from Doris's operational perspective, outside the fell.
Doris's job is the fell.
The fell is improving.
Be more like Doris.