|
I believe that animals are our fellow beings, travelling with us on our sojourn on this living planet, Earth. Some of these animals become members of our human families. They live with us, sharing our lives, with us both in times of triumph and joy as well as defeat and pain. In fact, in this time when families are split apart, and we often live hundreds or thousands of miles away from human family members, our companion animals are often the only close family members we have. They are there through children moving away from home, through divorce or separation, through job changes and moves, and through the death of human family members. They don’t judge us or criticize us; they just love us. Who can say that of even the closest human family member?
Animals help us get in touch with our natural roots. Especially in “highly civilized” societies like ours, people are very divorced from the kind of environment human beings evolved in. When this separation goes on over extended periods of time, deleterious effects occur. We’re usually unaware of these effects, especially if we’ve spent all our lives in our artificial environment. However, these ill effects still work on us, aware or not. They lead to various individual imbalances, which, over time, can cause physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual ills. On a bigger scale they lead to a destruction of the very planet on whom we rely for existence since it is viewed as something to exploit rather than something to treasure and revere. Animals are not so far removed from nature, and they help us get closer to that for which we (often unknowingly) hunger.
Our furry, feathered, and scaley companions teach us invaluable lessons about living in the moment. We humans spend a great deal of time eitherdwelling in the past or worrying about the future. Animals naturally do something which great spiritual teachers are always after their human students to do: they live in the here and now. We would do well to emulate them.
Animals also act as barometers of what is going on in our lives, for they often are the first to show signs of tension in a household, becoming emotionally upset or physically ill with the stress. It is a wise human who picks up the clues their furry, feathered, or scaley friends are exhibiting before things get too far out of hand. (I’m still learning this lesson. If my animals are acting up, my first thought is, “What the heck is wrong with them?” It usually takes me a while - and sometimes I never reach thatpoint - to turn around and look at what’s going on with me!)
Animals often make us laugh, which we greatly need in our frenetic, driven lives. They give us someone to love and care for. They help our hearts growand expand rather than contract and harden.
In the last couple of decades scientists have begun to substantiate what those of us who love animals have known all along about the good which animals bring into our lives. The first studies showed that animals were a major factor in helping humans survive a serious heart attack and that people’s blood pressure goes down when stroking their animals. Because of the publicity which these and other studies brought about, many animal-assisted therapy programs came into existence, ranging from animals visiting hospital patients or nursing home residents to dogs trained to help their deaf human companions to horseback riding for thosephysically challenged. Now we're finding that there are dogs able to detect cancer or predict epileptic seizures or heart attacks. Finally, there are the programs in which prison inmates train pound dogs, thereby making the dogs much more likely to find a good home and giving the inmates a profession when they get out of jail (what a win-win situation!!!).
All told, I believe there’s little doubt that our companion animals are very positive influences in our lives, and that they bring us invaluable gifts!
RECOMMENDED READING
(Note: this is by no means a complete list, just some of my favorites. If I were to list all the excellent books on this subject, it’d be longer than my article! )
1.) Between Pets and People: The Importance of Animal Companionship, by Beck, Sc.D., Alan and Katcher, M.D., Aaron; G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York; 1983.
2.) Betty White’s Pet Love: How Pets Take Care of Us, by White, Betty and Watson, Thomas J.; Wm. Morrow & Co., New York; 1983.
3.) The Pet Connection: Its Influence on Our Health and Quality of Life, Anderson, Robt.K., Hart, Benjamin L., and Hart, Lynette A., Ed.; Publ. by Center to Study Human-Animal Relationships and Environments, U. of Minn., Minneapolis; 1984.
4.) Kinship With All Life, by Boone, J. Allen; Harper & Rowe, New York, Hagerstown, San Francisco, London; 1954.
5.) Animals As Teachers & Healers: True Stories & Reflections, by McElroy, Susan Chernak; NewSage Press, Troutdale, OR; 1996.
6.) Awakening to the Animal Kingdom, by Shapiro, Robt. and Rapkin, Julie; Cassandra Press, San Rafael, CA; 1988.
7.) Beyond the Mirrors: The Study of the Mental and Spiritual Aspects of Horsemanship, by Hassler, Jill Keiser; Goals Unlimited Press, Quarryville, PA;
1988.
8.) Kindred Spirits: How the Remarkable Bond Between Humans & Animals Can Change the Way We Live, by Schoen, D.V.M., M.S., Allen M.; Broadway Books, New York; 2001.
9.) Mystical Dogs: Animals As Guides to Our Inner Life, by Houston, Jean; Inner Ocean Publishing, Inc., Makawao, Maui, HI; 2002.
|
|
