"4 Great Lessons We Can Learn From Animals"
We become like the ones that we surround ourselves and spend time with. I believe that it is good for us to have one or two close animal friends, as they are great influences and mentors. I have been working on a vineyard in the stunningly beautiful Okanagan valley through WWOOF, and have been interacting with various animals including dogs, birds, and horses. I've been learning a lot: a lot of things that we cannot learn from research and books. Here are 4 lessons that you too can learn through spending more time with these wise creatures!
1. Words aren't needed for deep, meaningful communication.
I sprained my ankle playing basketball and could not walk. When all the other kids in the house went out to the field, Buster the dog--instead of following them out to the field as usual--decided to stay home with me. Whenever I moved to another room or space, he would follow me and sit/lay down beside me without a word. I didn't need to hear any words from him; "I hope you get better soon", "I'm here if you need me". None of it.
2. Follow your instincts, instead of following your logical reasoning.
Logical reasoning is only logical because of words. AND!! Often times, words contradict itself. In addition to that, you can logically support ANY idea and make sense out of it. ANY idea! On the other hand, feelings come from lessons that we have learned through our life experiences. Feelings are wise. It is no wonder that some of the most successful and influential people are very much in touch with their intuition. Follow your instincts.
3. Do what you need to do.
When the animals are hungry, they look for food. When they need to run, they run. When they are sleepy, they sleep. No need to debate on when is the right time to sleep, whether snacks are good or bad, ladadadada.....
Every expert tells us different things about the same subject, and they are often proven wrong in a few years. On the contrary, our bodies know what we need.
4. What's good for us
During my stay at the farm, a friend said, "Hey, this is a very good place for the dogs. All the nature, the peace, clean water.."
I said, "Not just for the dogs, but for us as well.
In the hunan-dominated world that we live in, we tend to forget that we are animals.
Concluding words...
We ARE animals. In some societies today where encounters with animals is so rare, we tend to forget this fact. We are not separate from the other species of animals and plants. We are one of them. It is very hard living as a human on Earth today because of the high population of humans. Trees are cut down and cement buildings need to be built to support humankind. This makes it harder for us to take care of ourselves and not abuse ourselves. How about taking a short break from all the busy cities of conformity and spending some time observing and pondering life where we used to belong... where we are really ourselves... the nature?
