I was thinking about pets, about the way we treat them. More specifically I was thinking about the way I treat my pets, or have treated them over the years.
Then I began to wonder what it would be like to be a pet.
Imagine someone suddenly scooping you up wherever you are and giving you this big hug! Or being picked up and put in someone's lap and having your back rubbed!
It sounds sort of heavenly.
Yet along with that goes never quite understanding exactly what your owner means when she talks to you and not being able to voice a preference for food. Your eagerness to please could be misunderstood for rowdiness and your tastes for being obstinate.
Left alone you might be given a book to read, but what if it isn't one you are particularly interested in? And your freedom to come and go depends on who opens the door to what. Your freedom for everything depends on the whims of your owner. It's kind of like being a child.
I suppose it is no wonder that last night I dreamed my friend was my pet, curled up naked on my lap like a large puppy as I petted its back. Dreams are like three dimensional movies allowing me to live out my thoughts sometimes, but they always take it a step too far. This large pet would never look up. I could never see its face, look into its eyes.
I sat there stroking its smooth skinned back and realized I didn't want to own it. I just wanted to love it and I was confused. I didn't know quite how to do that.
With pets I assume their thinking is very limited, but what if it isn't? What if the question to this whole living thing is understanding that everything thinks in its own way and everything is; and just because I can't comprehend that doesn't let me off the hook?
Peace on earth might turn out to be understanding that. We might speak English, or Dutch, or Mongolian, but what we really need to speak is love.
Then I began to wonder what it would be like to be a pet.
Imagine someone suddenly scooping you up wherever you are and giving you this big hug! Or being picked up and put in someone's lap and having your back rubbed!
It sounds sort of heavenly.
Yet along with that goes never quite understanding exactly what your owner means when she talks to you and not being able to voice a preference for food. Your eagerness to please could be misunderstood for rowdiness and your tastes for being obstinate.
Left alone you might be given a book to read, but what if it isn't one you are particularly interested in? And your freedom to come and go depends on who opens the door to what. Your freedom for everything depends on the whims of your owner. It's kind of like being a child.
I suppose it is no wonder that last night I dreamed my friend was my pet, curled up naked on my lap like a large puppy as I petted its back. Dreams are like three dimensional movies allowing me to live out my thoughts sometimes, but they always take it a step too far. This large pet would never look up. I could never see its face, look into its eyes.
I sat there stroking its smooth skinned back and realized I didn't want to own it. I just wanted to love it and I was confused. I didn't know quite how to do that.
With pets I assume their thinking is very limited, but what if it isn't? What if the question to this whole living thing is understanding that everything thinks in its own way and everything is; and just because I can't comprehend that doesn't let me off the hook?
Peace on earth might turn out to be understanding that. We might speak English, or Dutch, or Mongolian, but what we really need to speak is love.
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