November 24, 2010

"There is a destiny that makes us brothers:
None goes his way alone:
All that we send into the lives of others
Comes back into our own."
--Edwin Markham

What goes around, comes around.

When I was younger, this saying always seemed like a warning.

"Be careful what you say about others.  They're sure to hear about it and then they'll come back at you!"

"Don't make anyone angry.  You don't want enemies out to ruin your career!"

Being so careful to avoid "putting anything out there" that might later rear up and bite me in the you-know-what made me feel self-conscious and self-censoring. At times, it restricted my ability to stand up for myself or to speak my truth.

So, like all young rebels, I rejected the philosophy.

For awhile, I said, "oh, the heck with it" and got sloppy about what I thought and said about others.  And sloppy about how I behaved toward my friends and family.

But, did that attitude do anything for my well-being and peace of mind?  Not so much...
Later, after I grew up a bit, I began to work in the field of veterinary medicine with pets and the people who loved them. Working with animals helped me better understand the metaphysical principle of "circulation"-what goes around, comes around.

Over and over, I witnessed the devotion of pets for their "people" and the result of that commitment.  The cycle was plain to see.  The pets offered unconditional love and acceptance to their humans and, in turn, the humans moved heaven and earth for their pets when the animals needed medical care.  The exchange was so tangible, I could literally feel the magnetism, the "stickiness", of the love those people returned to their animals.

"All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own..."

If you don't believe this is true, just take a look at the lives of the beloved cats and dogs around you.  For me, they are proof of the endless good available to us when we offer it first to others.

 

November 17, 2010

“There is in every animal’s eyes a dim image and gleam of humanity; a flash of strange light through which their lives look out and up to our great mystery of command over them, and claims the fellowship of the creature, if not the soul.”

--John Ruskin, art critic

This is one of my favorite quotes about the magic of the bond we share with animals.

Read it again.  And again.

Just breathe it in…

“claims the fellowship” is the phrase that gives me goose bumps. It’s how I’ve always felt about animals.  That they are my equal, my peer, my family.  They are just wearing a different earth suit than me.

 

November 10, 2010

"To me, animals have all the traits indicative of soul.  For soul is not something we can see or measure.  We can only observe its outward manifestations: in tears and laughter, in courage and heroism, in generosity and forgiveness.  Soul is what's behind-the-scenes in the tough and tender moments when we are most intensely and grippingly alive."
                                                                                

                            --Gary Kowalski

The raccoon wobbled quickly down the hill in the small vacant meadow that adjoins our yard.  It was dark, but when she raised her head and looked at me, her eyes glowed like two tiny yellow head lights.  They pierced the night.

My Chesapeake Bay retriever, Bear, was stalking her.  Bounding up and down the west edge of our yard, he barked and panted and wagged his great tail in her direction.  Even though a fence prevented him from reaching her, he was feeling the thrill of the hunt.  As Kowalski says, his doggie soul was "intensely and grippingly alive."

I wanted to let him stay outdoors for hours.  I felt joyful just watching him have so much fun.  But, he'd been barking for 10 minutes and I knew our neighbors were probably trying to sleep. It was time for me to retrieve the retriever.

As I joined Bear outdoors, I grabbed him by the collar and told him his little romp must come to an end.  H looked up at me with such delight dancing in his eyes that part of me wanted to release him, to let him run wild and free, like the raccoon.  I sensed his soul yearning for that freedom and I felt that same desire for "wildness" stir within me.

Bear. Me.  The raccoon.  We all wanted the same thing.

Purpose.  Freedom.  And the confidence that comes from feeling we are grippingly alive, even in the darkness of the night.

 

November 3, 2010

"Nothing determines who we will become so much as those things we choose to ignore."

 -Sandor McNah

My fellow blogger Jean McBride wrote an interesting post the other day on her Two Old Horses and Me blog.  It was about a man who stood at the same spot and took a photograph of the same backyard tree on the same day of every month for years.  From month-to-month, he didn't see much change or purpose to his practice.  But, as his photos accumulated, he came to relish the record he had of the years passing, marked by the maturing of the tree and other vegetation in his yard.
Jean's memory got me thinking about how cool it would be to have a photo history like this of a pet.  Can you imagine having a monthly, or even yearly, picture of your cat sleeping in her favorite spot?  Or what about a picture of your dog and your child together on their nightly walk?  Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a tangible record of how these two "buddies" grew and aged together?   A friend or relative could also snap a pose of YOU and your favorite companion animal.  I can't think of a better way to capture the love between you...

It's a sweet idea.  I invite you to get your camera right now and join me in documenting one of the comforting habits, routines, or poses from the daily lives of our special pets!