If Pets Could Talk

By Jackie Kellum

Your family pet is with you

for a brief time. They really are here on earth to teach us about living our best lives. If you think of your pet’s presence as being a ‘spiritual guide’ whose purpose is to enlighten you about life’s lessons and making the most of your lives, watch their behavior. They can teach us a lot.

As to survival skills, pets are usually good judges of character, and follow their instincts. As humans we sometimes over-analyze things and make ourselves a bit nuts. Animals listen, and go cautiously when they get some kind of internal warning signal when approaching a person or situation that may prove harmful to them. The only exception possibly is when they repeatedly trust a human who has done them harm, but they keep hoping that this trusted person will not repeat this hurtful behavior. Animals like humans in this case, sometimes stay in ‘abusive’ relationships, until they realize they need to get out of it for their own good health of mind and body. I am sure each of us has seen a dog running down the road with a half chew rope attached to his collar, or a cat who has moved in to your property to get away from his previous situation. What pets rely on—and what we should rely on also—learn to separate the ‘good’ humans from the ‘bad ones’, simply observe the person’s personality traits and actions, not necessarily what they say. It’s okay to not like someone. That’s the simple truth. Some cats and dogs do not like some of their own species. You probably have observed at times that a cat or a dog, may not like a particular human person either. The amazing part is, is how little the pet lets it affect them. They don’t feel guilty about it afterwards, don’t lose sleep over it, or make excuses about their personal feelings. They also don’t pretend to like the other animal or person, they just let their true feelings be known. As humans we do not necessarily do this – not sure why we feel we have to like everyone. If the other person is having a toxic affect or is always negative, evaluate what they are contributing to your life. You do not need to be rude in your behavior, but it is your choice to have a person involved or not in your life. Dogs and cats prefer to be around kind and positive people in their lives – look how happy they are with that decision.

Be open to adventure. Pets adapt to new situations and environments most times more easily than humans, who sometimes struggle with change. Pets teach us how to overcome our fears. As we know in life, things don’t always work out as you had planned. When we learn to adapt to a new or different situation as soon as possible, the more time we can spend enjoying it. Allowing yourself patience, not demanding perfection, setting your own standards and not those of others, acknowledging self-appreciation—all this gives you the courage to try new things. When you replace fear and self-criticism with trust in yourself, it helps you handle new and different situations, and makes life a bit easier. That’s what pets do... another life lesson...

We may never completely understand our pets. But, by letting them educate and inspire us, they can teach us how to have a simpler life, full of love and happiness. The kind of life we long for, for ourselves. This is going to be a threepart article... there is so much to learn from our pets. See you in April....

Jackie Kellum