This week: Your Animal Friends and You Edited by: NaNoKit  
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What's the best memory you've made with an animal companion?
Animals have thoughts, feelings and emotions. Let's treat them as such.
This week's Spiritual Newsletter is all about non-human beings, the joy they bring and our responsibilities towards them.
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Hardly a night goes by when I don’t spend at least a few hours with one of my cats snuggled up against me. Benjamin is a cuddly boy who loves being fussed, and who’s never happier than when I sit still, watching Netflix or something, with my hand resting on his fluffy belly.
There are times when it strikes me how special it is, this bond between human and non-human beings. It is wonderful how we can live our lives together, when we’re so different and any conversation we have must, necessarily, be held in a roundabout way. I know the various meows of my cats. I have, over the years, become familiar with their body language. We cannot converse directly, and yet we are clearly friends, and there’s a solid attachment on both sides.
I have never understood those who say that cats do not care about their humans. That they lack in attachment and affection. Sure, they express themselves differently than dogs do, but they love just as fully and completely when you win their trust. Once you do, you can’t help but love them right back. Even when they rejoice in knocking over that picture frame for what feels like the zillionth time.
There was a time – not that long ago, actually – when people did not believe other species to be capable of thought, or feeling, or emotion. There were those who felt surprised at the idea that other species can feel pain, and fear. I’ve always wondered at that. It seems obvious. Yet, to this day, there are debates on whether this animal or that animal is not, basically, incapable of anything that we recognise as being like us. Because that’s how we measure everything – in comparison to human beings. The question is, do they need to be?
Do other beings need to be like us for us to respect them? It may well be that if we find a way to directly communicate with, say, a lion, we’d struggle to understand the other because our frame of reference will likely be completely different. And that’s okay. We can still respect the lion as a being with thoughts, and feelings, and emotions. With family bonds and life experiences. Different, but also alike.
Pigeons are not often viewed as the brightest of beings, but did you know that (after some training) they can distinguish between different art styles – for example, recognise the works of Picasso and Monet? Some other species use tools, and show clear evidence of planning ahead, rather than just acting on instinct, as used to be assumed.
We are not unique in forming interspecies friendships. For example, gorillas and chimpanzees can form lasting friendships . We may be more able to provide the very best lives to our non-human companions, however, and we should do our very best to do so.
It’s easy to take our cats and dogs – and other pets – for granted. Especially those pets who live in cages, as it’s not as though they can choose to leave if they want to. They’re dependent upon our love and care, so we must make sure to not just provide them with food and water, but with our time; through affection and interaction.
Cats are often thought to be fine in taking care of themselves, but they do need stimulation in the form of interactive play time, and many will seek out pets and cuddles. Dogs require plenty of time outside and will do better with active play and fun challenges rather than just an open door into the backyard. Caged pets will require time outside of that small space. It’s essential to remember that they are not mindless automata, and that it’s our responsibility to ensure their physical and mental well-being.
As with any friendship, the rewards go both ways. I look after my cats, but they give a lot in turn. Those hours spent holding Benji’s fluffy belly is filled with a sense of peace and contentment. As are the memories I’ve built so far of Orion’s mad dashes, and the way she leaps at a tree and then just hangs there, like a sloth, not sure what to do next until you detach her.
The bonds we form with other species are special. We should cherish them, and nourish them, each and every day.
NaNoKit
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Spiritual: February 15, 2023 Issue [#11816]
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