Animals are agents of higher powers. Regard their actions and learn. What is important? They’ll show you…
~Hilarion
Most pet owners live with animals because we love them. We see ourselves as benevolent caretakers, feeding and tending to our pets’ every need, and often catering to quite a few of their desires, too. We feel good about giving our animal friends a safe and pleasant life.
We also understand that pet ownership is a reciprocal relationship. It’s easy to recognize that our pets shower us with affection and companionship in return for love and caring. They also learn to live by our house rules, adapting their animal natures to human expectations. We train and discipline our animal companions, considering them to be good when they comply with our wishes.
We may not recognize, however, how much our pets teach and raise us, as well. Divine loving consciousness—aka the sharing—creates itself in many forms to help us learn to enjoy and appreciate life, all life. In this way it employs animals, plants, and any and every aspect of life to help us learn about who we truly are in divine interconnection.
We are potentially more open to what our pets can teach us, because of the pure and uncomplicated bond we share with them. Most of us find it easier to relate to pets than to family members, so it’s not unexpected that we might be more accepting of what they have to show us.
The dog who waits faithfully for us at the back door even though we left home grumpy models non-judgment for us. The kitten who finds wonder in a blowing leaf shows us how to enjoy the simplest aspects of life. The parrot who learns to speak with us demonstrates the effectiveness of communicating with others on their own terms.
In even more subtle ways, animals act out our beliefs for us to show us what our thoughts create. The dog who runs away when we call offers us the opportunity to consider how we may be trying to avoid responsibility. The cat who scratches furniture despite our disapproval shows us how it feels when we disregard others’ feelings and preferences. Pets act as mirrors for our own behavior, giving us the option to watch and learn.
Animals both tame and wild also demonstrate what is important in life. A mother grackle patiently feeding her squawking fledgling illustrates the value of loving persistence in caring for our offspring. An otter playing on a riverbank shows us life is far too important to be taken seriously. A puppy rolling in the grass teaches us about savoring the moment. Animals tend to take life as it comes, without evaluation, and they show us how we might be happier by emulating them.
Let’s spend a few moments in conscious connection with our inner divinity—our sharing within—to discover what animals can teach us. We will begin with our breath, letting it slow and become steady and even, as we picture our sharing within as a golden sphere of light in the middle of our chest.
Inhalation feeds the light, making it strong and bright. Exhalation spreads the light through our body and out into our environment. Loving consciousness is encoded in the light, and it sanctifies all it touches. We’ll continue breathing and visualizing until we feel the steadiness and clarity of conscious connection with divinity through our sharing within.
We will think one animal interaction we observed in the last day, the first one coming to mind will do perfectly. Perhaps we saw a raccoon tip over a garbage can and munch happily on the contents. Perhaps our dog sat persistently in front in front of us, leash in mouth, as we watched television. Perhaps our cat luxuriated in a sunbeam with a big grin on its face.
Now we’ll breathe golden light into the remembered interaction and ask our sharing within to help us understand what the animal’s message. Perhaps the raccoon shows that there is value to be found in all things. Perhaps the dog’s message is that we need more exercise. Perhaps the cat illustrates the joy of reflecting light and love back to the world.
We will enjoy the message and the novel delivery mechanism. We’ll feel deep gratitude for the animal’s assistance and surround them with the golden light of our appreciation. They’ve helped to make our conscious expansion fun, and our world is richer for our recognition of them as loving teachers.
Divinely unique and beautiful reader, what have animals taught you today? Please share…