Our Pets, the Spiritual Teachers
“An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.”
--Martin Buber
“Lots of people talk to animals…Not very many listen, though…That’s the problem.”
--Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh
- Wisdom from a Cat Named Cairo
This is special story about an Earth Angel named Cairo that has passed on. His love and wisdom still impacts me to this day. He is the Professor in my children's story, "The Extraordinary Cats of Riverstone."
Our Animal Friends
We, humans, tend to think that we are wiser than the animal kingdom; however, our pets may disagree with us.
One night, my friend had a dream in which Cairo, my beloved cat that has now passed on, told my friend that humans are stupid. My friend asked him why he thought that. Cairo responded:
“You humans complicate your life!”
Thinking about this, Cairo’s statement made a whole lot of sense to me. Why do we complicate our lives? This brought up a quote by Gandhi:
“Live simply so that others may simply live.”
Even though this quote holds tremendous wisdom, many people in our society live a complicated life. Some do not feel content unless they have every high tech gadget in their possession, while a great many in the world live on less than two dollars a day. Even in this modern age, there are a lot of humans that are still dying of starvation. Why? Is life too complicated for us to figure this out?
Years ago, I had a social geography professor at the community college that said if we ate vegetarian meals for just two days a week that starvation could be eliminated. Personally, I do not think that being a vegetarian for two days would be a difficult task; however, the difficult task is convincing the majority to undertake this small request “so that others may simply live.”
In reflection, there was a vast amount of wisdom in Cairo’s eyes. He was a feline Buddha. From his point of view, it was pointless in being stressed out. He would look at me and say that everything is okay. Cairo would then make his way to me and shower me with love. I immediately felt a wave of relief. I then thought, “Why did I let myself get stressed out? It was nothing.”
The love we share with the world is what it’s all about.
We were blessed to have a gifted teacher in our presence. We, humans, often forget what unconditional love is; however, our beloved pets remind us that unconditional love is what we are.
We were born from a loving Creator that loves us unconditionally. There are no requirements for unconditional love. Our pets, the spiritual teachers, love us unconditionally as well. Yet many people give their love in a conditional manner. We may not necessarily speak this, but our body language and actions do.
Chai, our Siamese cat, teaches me about the importance of a soothing and loving touch. She informs me that it is important to be affectionate and loving with one another.
What a wonderful feeling a hug is! What better way to reassure our connectedness with one another.
Chai also taught me about the importance of giving love to myself. We are often taught that it is better to give than to receive, but I believe that it is also important that we spend quality time with ourselves. As a former life science teacher from the community college once shared, “You need to be able to hang out with yourself.”
I enjoy my “me” time. It is very special to me. It is wonderful to get to know myself. It is sad that some people do not engage in alone time. I had a former co-worker that was terrified to spend time alone. She always had to have people in her presence. I also know individuals that are afraid of the silence; they always have to have some type of “noise” in the background or they will go crazy. Personally, I enjoy the silence. It is a way for me to make the connection to myself and the divine.
Animals and Soul Contracts: Unconditional Love
We can also simplify our lives by not taking life so seriously. We, humans, have to take time out to play and laugh.
Enter into the equation Munchkin.
From out of the blue, Munchkin will run up to me and tap me on the leg and run down the hallway. What is that all about you ask? Does he want to be fed? No. Does he want me to turn on the bathroom faucet? No. Does he want me to pop in a video for him? No. Munchkin has just initiated a game of tag.
“Tag, you’re it!”
P.S. Munchkin says to check out TK's hub entitled "Spiritual Motivation." It is an awesome article and has a cool picture of his cat Jack "chillin' with his Buddha buddy." In the above photo is Munchkin chillin' with his pig buddy.
