Other important lessons that our four-legged friends can teach us:
Stretch. Animals are continually stretching – following a nap, while changing position, when they want their stomachs scratched. They remind us, by example, that we need to stretch out and open ourselves up.
Go for the gusto. Animals enthusiastically enjoy routine activities – eating, running and playing. In fact, the ordinary and predictable things are, the more pleasure they seem to get from them. As one delighted dog says to another in a Gary Larsen cartoon, “Oh boy! Dog food again!” Nobody is more “in the moment,” more appreciative of what simply is, than a happy dog or cat.
Touch and be touched. The concept of pet therapy is becoming more mainstream. Therapy dogs are routinely brought into hospital wards to brighten patients’ days. The comfort of touch is a big part of what animals offer people. Most communication between animals of all kinds is nonverbal, and touch is the most intense form of nonverbal connection. People are free to reach out to animals and connect with them in an innocent but intimate way that isn’t possible with most other people.
Respect the cycle of life. Caring for a pet also keeps human beings in tune with every aspect of life, from birth to death, and though loss of pets is deeply sad, and inevitable, given their short life expectancy, they teach us to accept life’s limits, and offer irreplaceable comfort in tough times.
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