Day 14 -Saying Yes To Animals

Once when my daughter was quite young I had a conversation with her when I had my shirt off. She told me,  “Daddy, Your boobs are showing.” I replied,”No sweetheart, when it is a man it is called a chest, not boobs.” She replied, “Daddy, I know boobs, and those are boobs.” Oh, well, I guess we can depend on young children to tell us the truth of how they see the world. 

It may not be in words, but in actions. Moving closer to someone they feel safe with or shying away from another they are uncomfortable with. As we grow older we learn to lie to others and ourselves. However early on there is no artifice, simply unvarnished reality as they see it.

Animals are the same. I learned to  be hard on animals because that is what I saw others doing. People were extremely hard on animals and children in my environment. My early conception being with an animal was to be kind when they behaved the way I wanted, and with sudden harsh punishment when they were not “good.”

One of the areas I am most grateful in changing is this one. Seeing animals I loved shying away from me told me the truth. I recognized in them the same reactions I had toward adults I had known as a child. I realized that I was treating them as I had been treated.

Saying yes to animals, and to all creatures is to respect them. The root of respect is the word spectacles. The re- prefix is to do again. To re-spect is to see again, to really see who we are looking at, whether it be animals or children, or men or women. To see life and humanity with fresh eyes that allow us to see others as they are, and as they want to be dealt with. 

Animals are our great teachers. Learning to really see them teaches us to really see each other. There is no one better than us as individuals, and we are no better than anyone else. Saying yes to animals is a continuum of learning to saying yes to love. They even teach us about loss. We must eventually say goodbye to the animals we loved, but it is worth it. Love is worth it. Say yes to life. Say yes to loving what is. Say yes to  animals!