Elk Peacefully Grazing
I have a cat, Gitch, who is a talker. When I come home, he greets me at the door and begins. I imagine the conversation might be something like this:
“Mom. Mom. It was hekkin scary. I was peacefully sleeping and heard a roar outside. I investigated. It was a brown truck. I tried to rouse Mog to help me defend our house. She just snoozed. And then, and then, I heard footsteps. I peered out and saw a man in a brown uniform. I ducked down and then heard a thud. Mog kept sleeping. I hid and the truck went away. I crept back to my bed and waited. I was worried, mom, but now you’re home.”
I talk to, with, about, and for animals every day. I anthropomorphize animals on a regular basis. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to animals as well as non-living things and phenomena. I imagine animals talk to me.
For example, as I wander and see birds and animals, I make up stories about what they are saying. As two geese flew overhead and honked at Lake Estes, I imagined perhaps the female is saying to her lifelong mate: “If we had gotten an earlier start, Harold, we wouldn’t have to be flying so fast. I thought we were going to stop back in the marsh. Where are we going?”
What I admire most about many animals, however, and the attribute I wish I had is the ability to stay in the moment. When I see deer or elk placidly grazing in a meadow, I wish I were them. They seem not to have a care in the world unless something startles them. They look patient and peaceful. Unlike me, I doubt they are thinking about regrets they have in their lives. I doubt they are worrying about what is going to happen tomorrow. They are not anxious about impending danger until it is obviously upon them.
I wish I could better live in the moment. I would like to be able to react when there is a present problem but not worry about a future that has yet to unfold. Nevertheless, Charles Darwin suggested that “There is no fundamental difference between man [people] and animals in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery.” People can learn from the shared similarities.
Nicole Brownfield (https://www.society19.com/uk/qualities-of-animals-that-humans-should-consider; July 27, 2018) wrote a short article giving examples of what humans could learn from animals. For example, elephants show empathy by caressing distressed members gently with their trunks. Lions appear to be fearless animals and the most relentless of fighters in the face of life challenges. Many animals are playful and fun-loving creatures such as otters and penguins. I also love the generosity of penguins when they offer rock gifts as part of their courting ritual. I admire wolves who are both loyal to their mates and packs. Each wolf has a duty to protect every member of the pack.
I believe that animals can see into human souls. When I look into my cats’ eyes, I believe they are entering into my core. They are assessing the person I am. I hope they see my goodwill for them. Animals, both domestic and wild, teach me lessons about living every day and I make no apologies for anthropomorphizing them.
Karla,
An interesting read. It brought to mind several thoughts: 1) how much we have yet to learn about what goes on inside the heads of other living things; 2) given what you said, how do we reconcile being carnivores; and 3) what are the implications if we someday learn that plants are sentient as well? There are a whole lot of interesting philosophical questions related to your theme today. I’ve also been fascinated by what biomimicists have to say about what we can learn from other creatures who have been very successful in making their way in the world–like hummingbirds, for example, who can travel hundreds, if not thousands, of miles on a tiny bit of energy. What can they teach us that might be useful in our own evolutionary journey? You, of course, benefited from growing up on a farm in the company of animals, so you have a much more informed history of them than I do.
I so much appreciate your comments. I do think there is a whole lot we do not know about sentient beings. I continue to struggle with eating meat, but my farm roots keep pulling me back to eating a small amount. Thanks for all your insights.
You know I would like this one perhaps the best so far. 🙂 I totally believe animals talk and some that get to know us (and us, them) even understand us as we speak to them. I think it is almost arrogant of us to think that we are so special and that no other animal could possibly communicate or have feelings/ emotions similar to us. So I will continue to “name” animals, talk/interact with them, imagine what they might be saying, and looking for the wisdom that comes from them as they try to communicate with these falsely superior “humans”….
You are the ultimate animal whisperer with your animals like “Popsicle.” You keep doing what you are doing!!
I am a cat in a woman’s body, so I basically relate to how cats “talk,” think, act. I love how you think like animals and communicate with them. Another wonderful wandering and wondering. Thanks, Karla. Anne