It seems that I have inadvertently offended several of my faithful readers from my latest blog post, assuming from my rather melancholy tone that I am thoroughly dissatisfied with my current state in life and all who occupy it, yearning instead for greener pastures and a flashier lifestyle. Let me take a moment to assure you that this is not true! No matter how paradoxical it may sound, I am having one of the best times of my life! In fact, if you saw me right now at church or at the grocery store or wherever, you’d probably see a very relaxed and genuinely happy girl. Because I am! But that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss things from my old life as well. Let’s be honest: living abroad is cool. And I liked that about myself. But now I’m discovering who Michigan Kelsey is again and I’m realizing she’s pretty different from Central American Kelsey. Which actually shouldn’t be much of a surprise to anyone. Life changes, and we do too along with it.
So today, I’d like to talk about pets because that seems like a fairly safe topic. I happen to be very blessed in the realm of pets—I have my immigrant cat, Artemis, who came with me all the way from Nicaragua. She’s a feisty calico who has intermittent freak-out moments where she races through the house parkouring off whatever furniture and walls that happen to be in her way and then finally collapses on the floor, panting. I also have three pet plants in my room (yes, they’re pets too—I care for them just as much as my other pets): an aloe, a succulent and some moss. I love them. I even visit with our resident pond frogs from time to time, content to hear them croak and watch them lazily lie about on the lily pads. I am an aunt to two lovely puppies, who aren’t little puppies anymore (but they still are to me). Yes, Moki and Finley are frequently spoiled by yours truly—I actually have very little willpower against puppy-dog eyes and am more than willing to spare a few bites of dinner to bribe them to love me even more. I am also a new aunt to a lovely kitten, Siggy, who’s little tan face and blue eyes make me want to play with her all day. I’m friends with many other pets and we have play dates from time to time: my grandparent’s dog and ducks, my boyfriend’s family’s dogs and cats and chickens, my friend’s pet goldfish, just to name a few.
Clearly, we humans love our pets. But why?
I have a few theories, but the biggest and simplest one is because they unconditionally love us (yes, even our slightly standoffish cats). We can come home after a long day at work and cuddle up with our furry friends. We can sit with them and tell them of our woes and they won’t even get mad. They’ll just listen and maybe interrupt with a lick or two. Being friends with them is so easy—there’s no room for jealousy there, or suppressed anger, guilt trips, or passive-aggressive responses. Instead, you have a a little buddy who wants some good food and maybe a scratch behind the ears or a quick run in the backyard.
To be true, pets are the epitome of finding contentment in the simple things in life. What would it be like if we humans were more like our pets? I suppose we would learn to relax and enjoy a nice long nap in a sun spot or in the shade of a nice big tree. We would itch to be outside and sniff the new things we find and run around a bit to let off some energy or chase a new friend. We would revel in good food and beg for more even after we ate a whole meal. We would cuddle with our loved ones on the couch or in the car or in their beds at night, not believing in personal bubbles for one moment. We would be overflowing with joy when our loved ones walked in the front door, running up to greet them before anyone else.
Would we be happier if we were more like our pets?
I think so. What do you think?
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