by Crystal Ward Kent
When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey
- a journey that will bring you more love and devotion than you have
ever known, yet also test your strength and courage
If you allow, the journey will teach you many things,
about life, about yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come
away changed forever, for one soul cannot touch another without leaving
its mark.
Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life's
simple pleasures - jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of
puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears.
If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how
to truly experience every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go
unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very air
will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable
information. Your pace may be slower - except when heading home to the
food dish - but you will become a better naturalist, having been taught
by an expert in the field.
Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal
being to complete the trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the
details - the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in
the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig. Once we walk as a
dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the
landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look up, down, all
around. And we learn what any dog knows: that nature has created a
marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of
the seasons bring ever changing wonders, each day an essence all its
own.
Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to
the world around you. You will find yourself watching summer insects
collecting on a screen. (How bizarre they are! How many kinds there
are!), or noting the flick and flash of fireflies through the dark. You
will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or sniff
the air after a rain. It does not matter that there is no objective in
this; the point is in the doing, in not letting life's most important
details slip by.
You will find yourself doing silly things that your
pet-less friends might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the
grocery aisle looking for the cat food brand your feline must have,
buying dog birthday treats, or driving around the block an extra time
because your pet enjoys the ride.
You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewie toys,
bounce little rubber balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the
house trailing your bathrobe tie - with a cat in hot pursuit - all in
thhe name of love.
Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will
wear less dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog
biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an
old plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat
loves the crinkly sound.
You will learn the true measure of love - the steadfast,
undying kind that says, "It doesn't matter where we are or what we do,
or how life treats us as long as we are together." Respect this always.
It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another. You will
not find it often among the human race.
And you will learn humility. The look in my dog's eyes
often made me feel ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw
not some flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude,
but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and
dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and so
chose to love me anyway.
If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is
done, you will be not just a better person, but the person your pet
always knew you to be - the one they were proud to call beloved friend.
I must caution you that this journey is not without
pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as
surely as the sun sets, one day your dear animal companion will follow a
trail you cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the strength and
love to let them go. A pet's time on earth is far too short - especially
for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just for awhile, and
during these brief years they are generous enough to give us all their
love, every inch of their spirit and heart, until one day there is
nothing left.
The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon
old and frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy
wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle now gray. Deep down we somehow
always knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our
hearts they would be broken. But give them we must for it is all they
ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place
we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead - young
and whole once more.
"Godspeed, good friend," we say, until our journey comes
full circle and our paths cross again.
[Editor's Note: There are millions of cats and dogs
dying for a home, please make room in your heart and adopt one or two
from your local shelter or rescue.]
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