The animals at The Gentle Barn have earned their independence from the meat, poultry, and dairy industries and are now our family, friends, and loved ones for the rest of their lives.... Learning from our animal ambassadors, I’m yearning for more kind and gentle humanity where we can see clearly that all beings, human and non, are the same. It is not our bodies that describe us, it is our hearts!
An extraordinary relationship: Sun doesn’t have affection for
any other goat, and Gus does not hang out with any other turkeys...
The animals at The Gentle Barn have earned their independence from
the meat, poultry, and dairy industries and are now our family,
friends, and loved ones for the rest of their lives. They are no
longer numbers or property, they are the beloved, sentient beings
they were always meant to be. And once home, they develop
friendships that take our breath away!
One of the most extraordinary friendships at The Gentle Barn is
between our California goat, Gus, and his best friend Sun, our
turkey. I’m not sure what attracted them to each other, but Sun
doesn’t have affection for any other goat, and Gus does not hang out
with any other turkeys. Every single day after breakfast the two of
them find each other and stand together for hours. They stand next
to each other, close their eyes, and seem to be in a secret
conversation that only the two of them understand. And if anyone
else tries to join in, they both move away, preferring to be alone
together. It is obvious that both Gus and Sun are oblivious to the
differences that might otherwise separate them, and instead see only
their commonalities; like their gentleness, their shared past of
fear and loneliness, and their mutual love of meditation and
cuddling. If they were to see themselves in a mirror, I think they
would be shocked, as in their mind's eye, they are exactly the same,
each radiating out the shape and color of love.
Another wonderful friendship is between our Sheep, Einstein, and our
goat Hazel in St Louis, Missouri. Hazel had been at The Gentle Barn
for some time when the frightened, shaken, and feral Einstein came
in. He had lived alone and wild for many years and he needed a
friend badly! He was covered in ticks, malnourished, and terrified
of humans. While he learned to trust us, he desperately needed
someone who could calm his nerves, show him that it was safe and
that he could bond with. Hazel stepped into this role immediately
without hesitation. She never, not once treated him as someone other
than exactly like herself. She could remember a time in her own life
when she was scared and lonely, and she appreciated the comfort she
received at our sanctuary. She understood what he was going through
and that drew him to her. She sat just on the other side of the
fence dividing their stall, ate at the same time as him, and even
bleated for him when he felt concerned. She made sure he could see
her being pet by us, so she could show him he was ok, and even slept
by his side. Einstein trusts us completely now and has made a full
recovery, leaving his past behind him. And Hazel is still by his
side, his first and forever best friend. It doesn’t matter that she
is a goat and he a sheep, they speak the same language, the language
of love and gentleness!
In Tennessee, we have a lovely friendship budding between our goat,
Merlin, and our miniature horse, Princess Pebble. I would never have
thought that the two would be friends by the way Pebble pins her
ears, tilts her back legs threateningly, and yells at everyone to
stay away from her. She is very bossy and has clear and defined
rules that must be obeyed by all of us. But kind and lovely Merlin
made it through her bossy barrier and into her heart forever. He
always greets her each morning with a friendly kiss on the nose,
grazes by her side, checks on her when she is agitated, supports her
when being groomed, and takes care of her as if she were part of his
own family. With a group of goats and a lone horse in a pasture
together, it might be easy to picture the pony being left out and
isolated, but not with Merlin in charge. He said to Pebble, “you are
one of us” and was not interested in her protests. The four of them
are one beautiful family and not one of them can find an odd member.
They all eat hay, breath air, love life, feel happy or sad
sometimes, and call The Gentle Barn home, and that’s enough in
common for them!
A lovely friendship between our goat, Merlin, and our miniature
horse, Princess Pebble...
If animals of all kinds can ignore differences and see only what unites them, I’m thinking all of us can too! Learning from our animal ambassadors, I’m yearning for more kind and gentle humanity where we can see clearly that all beings, human and non, are the same. It is not our bodies that describe us, it is our hearts! It is not our religion, ethnicity, gender, or species that define us, it is our souls. And it is not our individual roles in this lifetime that separate us, it is our common experience on this planet in whatever body we came with that unites us. We all eat, drink, pee, poop, sleep, love, fear, hurt, cry, and laugh, and that is enough in common for me! And I’m declaring my independence from eating another, hurting another, judging another, or rejecting another. It is time for love! It is indeed high time for love!