Animals Own Their Experiences
In our interactions with animals we tend to look at them through the eyes of our human experience. Which only makes sense because we’re humans, right?
Well, no.
For instance: When you and your dog go for a walk, do you have the same experience?
When dog Max was alive we’d go for a walk and even though we were in the same physical space, sharing the same physical activity, our experiences were different.
Max loved being outdoors, exploring all the smells and experiences that awaited him. His favorite thing was to stop, point his nose to the air or the ground and take in all the delicious scents that were recent and fresh. As a human, it is impossible for me to experience that.
On our walks part of my mind was always preoccupied with keeping track of time. I knew we needed to get back so I could take care of the next item on the to do list. As a dog, Max had no concept of to do lists and the need to move on and ‘do’ something.
The take away? Animals own their experiences which don’t need to be validated through the human lens.
By looking at animals through our human lens, we are doing them a huge disservice. We are denying them their own agency as sentient beings who have their own experiences and interests outside of the human created world.
Animals are involved with the experiences in their own world, which may not have anything at all to do with what is happening in the human world. They are owners of their own lives and when we insist on interpreting their actions in the light of our human assumptions, we are robbing them of their agency. We are rejecting a genuine place with a different species in an ethical, animistic true kinship with each other.
What To Do?
Just for today…..pay attention to what the animal is paying attention to. Put your human assumptions of what it should be or should mean aside and pay attention to the nuances of what is actually happening. It’s time to observe, not judge.
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Every week you’ll find the blog updated with my teachings. These are free because I want to nurture the practice of community and collaboration as best I can in a society that values power-over, competition and individualism.
I honor the integrity and wisdom of the teachings as well as the time I have spent learning them so that I can pass them forward. They are free and I ask if you are in a position to pay for them that you do so in a reciprocal
Here’s an invitation for you to join me on this path of true kinship with animals. My work is devoted to helping you show up in the world for animals from the fullness of your authentic self. I hope this encourages you to look at your relationship with animals differently so that a new place of understanding begins to open for you.
