Things we can learn from our pets
This lockdown gave all of us ample time to introspect about what matters in life. As a result of this, I couldn’t help but think about how pets influence our lives. P.S. I don’t have pets currently, but I have had pets(both cats and dogs) in the past. I got to learn a plethora of lessons, that I thought can help us see life from a positive perspective. I’ll also try to jog my memory and highlight some incidents around each lesson. I have narrated these incidents many times to some of my close friends and they think I’m still obsessed with my pets 😜 . You guys can use a story or two to kick the Monday blues. I hope this brightens your day and puts a smile on your face!
Live and Let Live
You might have noticed that some street dogs are really friendly. Even if some of them get injured every day by humans, still, if one human extends some hospitality to a dog, they immediately forget all the mishaps and befriend people with open arms instantly and easily, without any hard feelings. Pets never judge any human by their physical appearance and are tolerant towards them. Some dogs even befriend cats(considered against their dog instincts). They forgive and forget easily. I think this is something that we can inculcate in our lives. Also, they make sure to spread love and happiness everywhere they go.
Carpe diem
Unlike most of us humans, they prefer to live in the moment. They put their mind and soul at the present moment always. Have you ever seen your dog brooding over food, when they are playing? Never. I know we are humans. Thousands of thoughts cross our minds every second! But we need to prioritize what matters at a point of time and go ahead accordingly. I can recall one instance to support this thought. There was a time 3 years ago when we had 4 cats(stray ones who used to drop by for more than a few hours every day).
There is this rule of nature, that mother cats have to leave the company of their kittens once they are grown up and can take care of themselves. The mother cat, Menku(yes, my father named her!), left her kittens at our house. One of the kittens, Chinku(again, my father named her!), was very attached to her mother. She was inconsolable and wasn’t able to come to terms with the truth for a week. She used to cry remembering her. But slowly, she moved on and understood that this was necessary and went on with her life independently. She had the company of her sister, Chinky, who consoled and made sure she is fine. Similarly, we all have had our share of good and bad times. So, why waste the good ones thinking about the bad?
When you take your pets for vaccinations, they are traumatized for some time. But as soon as you urge them to play, they forget everything and concentrate on playing. This tells us that life is too short to be wasted brooding over pain, which is again short-lived.
Also, this leads us to another lesson. Don’t dwell in the past. If you already follow YouTube channels like Hope for Paws, Animal Aid Unlimited, and The Dodo, they show astonishing healing stories of animals. How they have grown out of their troubles and learned to embrace life, the way it is. Even if they are disabled, that doesn’t stop them from being themselves.
Keep feeding your curiosity
Remember how curious we used to be, as kids? We used to ask anything and everything, without any fear of judgment. That’s the way we learn. The same goes for pets. They are always curious. Be it a new toy or a machine, they have their way of exploring. I think feeding the curiosity can pave the way to unravel the undiscovered parts of our mind, and let us know what things are left to be discovered in this world. So, yes, we should never be complacent with what we know. If we do that, we would never know what’s in store out there. This can train the mind to find learning in anything and everything one can come across.
I can recall that during the rainy season in Barbil, there used to be a lot of snails in our backyard. Doggy Das used to be excited about playing with them, just like, “Hey there, you! What you doing?”.
Don’t multitask
Most of you may choose to differ with me here. This lockdown, we have a lot of things to juggle and pay attention to. I agree to disagree, to each their own. Even I used to multitask at times. I realized, I wasn’t satisfied, even if I could complete the tasks, at the end of the day. It was as if I was half-heartedly doing things.
Recently, due to some family issues, I had to juggle my time cooking, cleaning, and then paying attention to my job too, all at the same time. I used to feel tired, even at the beginning of the day. I used to be surprised at this as I didn’t do much physically. Needless to say, it affected my alertness and slowed me down. Multi-tasking ensures that your brain is occupied all the time, which exhausts your mind. This may adversely affect your performance, as involuntarily, you are using up your energy reserves. I came across a LinkedIn article on this and I couldn’t agree more. Give it a read, if you want to discover what multitasking does to you. At the end of the day, it’s not only about quantity, it’s about quality too.
Accept and love yourself
I have never been fortunate enough to foster pets with special needs. Yes, fortunate. I mean it. But I have come across a lot of videos on the above YouTube channels. They are kind souls. They never judge or stop themselves, just because they have a disability. Being differently-abled doesn’t come in their way of being their happy and contented self. This is something that we can surely learn from them. Don’t let others dictate or change the opinion you have about yourself or allow it to be a hindrance to how you are. Also, don’t be too hard on yourself.
Loyalty and possessiveness
You are already familiar with this, aren’t you? There is no match to how much a pet can love us. I am going to highlight an incident. Doggy had always been possessive about me. If some neighbors took me for an hour or two with them, he made sure to follow. If he happened to lose sight of me, he used to anxious and chew on whatever he could lay his paws on. This just shows how protective and possessive pets can be towards the ones they love.
Also, they forgive easily. I can recall one more incident to support this. I used to copy my father. Just like, he used to rotate the accelerator on his motorcycle, I used to sit on top of Doggy and pinch his ears. He used to bawl, but he never bit or harmed me. He knew that I was a kid and I didn’t know it was causing pain to him. He used to behave like a father to me.
Take care of yourself
Cats always groom themselves. So, always take care of your health. Stretch and exercise for some time daily. Groom and pamper yourself, and pat yourselves on the back for all the efforts that you’ve been putting for keeping yourselves and your loved ones upbeat.
Also, don’t forget to take naps whenever you need it, just like pets do. I know its easier said than done. I know work keeps piling up. It always will. Taking a nap won’t slow you down, but give a fresh perspective towards whatever feat you are trying to pull off and provide you with much-needed momentum. You never know, you may come up with better ideas after a nap. Trust me, this is tried and tested! I have solved bugs just after a nap, which had taken a day or two in the past.
Spread love and happiness
Again something that we can learn. During these unprecedented times, when we are confined to our homes, online interaction is the only way. So, try and be a little empathetic towards the people around you. You never know what one may be going through. Try to put yourselves in their shoes and forgive all the ones who have wronged you. Spread positivity! The world needs it.
That’s it from my side. I would like to end with a note. If you are looking to foster a pet, make sure that you don’t leave them alone for long periods. Even they suffer from depression. As much as you take care of a pet, they take care of you too! Your pet loves you unconditionally, don’t you think you owe the same to them?
Note: If you are wondering how I could remember so many things about Doggy as a child, I didn’t. My parents made sure that I remember all the love that Doggy had for me by reiterating all the tiny incidents, from time to time. No doubt, he will always remain close to my heart. So will other pets!
