Lessons From Our Friends

As I was perusing through Pinterest (of course!) there were a lot of pins of animals, pets and nature and it got me thinking of something I read in Eckhart Tolle's book, "A New Earth" about how animals do not live with ego. He mentioned how, when you see a  couple of ducks in a pond fight, they squabble, get done with it, literally shake it off, and swim off as if nothing ever happened. They don't really keep an attachment to it, holding grudges and remembering wrong-doing's.

If you really think about it, most animals don't hold grudges (my dad's poodle, Molly, being the one exception, I think, but even she gets over her little 'mad's' quickly enough). If you watch dogs on a dog beach running, splashing, digging and having the time of their lives, they are living completely in the moment, the Now. When you watch a cat sunning itself lazily, it isn't thinking of the past and letting that rule their thoughts or worrying about the future-events that haven't even happened yet. As a matter of fact, I bet they aren't even thinking about when their next meal is going to be, believe it or not.

There are so many pictures and stories I've seen lately depicting animals that are "total opposites" living harmoniously and at peace with each other because they've never been told otherwise. What a lesson to be learned from that!

If we could all just realize that we are all from the same Source, that under our skin we are all the same, that our connection is real and we are never alone, what a glorious existence we could have.

I know it is easy to say, "Yeah, but it'll never be like that..."

That infuriates me more than anything. That shows the lack of desire to even try. If every single person on this planet said that, where would that leave us? If you always wait around for "someone else to do it" what state would Louisiana be in after Katrina? New York and New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy?  But if every person on the planet actually tried, even a little each day, imagine the possibilities! Just imagine where we would be now if we started years ago, all of us, instead of just a brave few who's lights were extinguished much too early like John Lennon, Dr. Martin Luther King and Mohandas Gandhi, all believing in and spreading peace in their own ways.

But I do I believe we are starting to step up more now, and the use of social media, while consuming our attention way too much at times, acts as an outlet and means of outreach for all of us to connect better than we ever have. Now that we have the tools with which to communicate with each other physically, we need to focus on gaining the tools with which to learn how to communicate with each other mentally and emotionally.

I am proud to say I'm seeing that more and more each day, the reaching out to one another, the support, the love. Sure, I still see ignorance and hatefulness as well, but I choose to focus on the positive rather than the negative actions of others. I choose not to respond to or get upset by comments and actions unless it seems really necessary. Why do that to yourself? You're just giving people like that what they want. Of course it upsets me to see people still treating each other that way, but I'm not going to get myself involved in petty arguments and rude discussions because I have come to a point in my life where I don't have to be right all the time. It took some work, but I did it.

I wish for the future of humankind that we become more involved with each other in a positive way. When we learn to accept one another for who and what we are and gain a deep realization that we are of one another, not separate. What a fantastic day it will be when we can all look at each and every human being and see ourselves. When we can rid ourselves of the attachment of things and gauge our worth on the richness of our relationships. When we no longer hold court with things that cause us separation such as our stubborn views on politics, religion, sexual orientation and monetary wealth.

I know this is probably a long way off, but it doesn't have to be too far into the future. It is all well within our reach, in this lifetime. It just takes a moment of collecting yourself each day and making the decision to change and live from that point of view onward. I don't kid myself, here, it takes work, and you won't be 'perfect' at it everyday, or even probably do it most days, but you can make a start.
Why not start today?