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Were I To Pray Now
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Wednesday, April 16, 2008
11:19:00 AM EDT
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11:19:00 AM EDT
Were I To Pray Now
In attempting to question why some people connect and relate to animals on profound and empathetic levels, while many others don't, one needs to go back (I believe) to early upbringings, experiences and education regarding animals.
In my own case, as a child, I was heavily influenced by my Grandmother, my Mother, personal experiences with animals, media in the forms of Disney movies, books and to some degree, my Catholic religion.
My Grandmother arrived to this country from Ireland in the early 1900's and brought with her a depth of knowledge and instinct regarding animals after having grown up on a small, County Kerry farm.
When I rescued my first cat at about the age of 8, it was "Nannie" who knew how to care for a cat and persuaded my reluctant Mother (who was afraid of cats at the time) to allow me to keep "Kitty Kelly."
About a year later, I found a pigeon with a broken wing and Nannie made a splint for "Chipper" out of popsicle sticks and helped to care for him for the several months until his wing healed and he was able to fly away (though Chipper always remained in the general area).
Following the death of my family's 17-year-old dog, we were given a young, Cocker Spaniel from relatives who claimed they could not care for him.
But, it soon became apparent the real reason "Taffy" was given up. -- He was a biter.
I don't believe we had Taffy for more than a few days before he jumped up and bit me on the face.
Now, most people would immediately give up on an unpredictable animal who bites a child.
But, not my family.
My Grandmother gave me pointers on how to approach and interact with Taffy (very carefully!) and I was advised never to pet Taffy on the top of his head. (For some strange reason, he hated that).
Though always careful and somewhat fearful of Taffy, I eventually learned that I could also have great fun with him by taking him out for long, evening runs up and down the streets of Manhattan.
Any time my Mom and Grandmother got into one of their intense "love/hate relationship" fights, I was immediately out the door with Taffy.
The great "escape" that having a dog represents is still something that lives with me today. There are few things I enjoy more in life than long walks in the park with my current dog, Tina.
In addition to learning and assimilating much about animals from my immediate family (especially my Grandmother), I also loved watching Disney movies ("Bambi," "Lady and the Tramp," "Dumbo") and reading books about animals.
During my early teens, I voraciously read every book from "The Black Stallion" series, as kids go for "The Harry Potter" series now.
If I learned the finer points of direct animal care and understanding from my Grandmother, my Mother instilled in me a curiosity and appreciation for issues of justice and politics.
Although a lifelong and somewhat fanatical "Republican," (unlike my Grandmother who was a Democrat), my Mom nevertheless hated any kind of injustice, cruelty or prejudice against other people.
I was taught very early in life never to make fun of or insult children who were different from me in any way. I was also taught by my Mother the horrors of racial bigotry and our country's sordid history with slavery and segregation, as well as the atrocities associated with the Holocaust.
Some of these teachings were also reinforced by the Catholicism I was brought up with -- though my Mom had her own personal spins on it.
According to both my Mother and Grandmother, the way to "heaven" was to do good works in life and always "do unto others as you would have done to you." -- that included animals.
Unlike the Catholic Church, my family insisted that animals indeed, go to heaven.
As a child, I prayed to the Blessed Mother every night. Mostly I prayed for protection for my family and me, but sometimes I prayed for animals. -- Especially following the day, I tried to save a pigeon hit by a car, but who died in my hands when I tried to save him. I prayed and cried to the Blessed Mother to please take him to heaven.
In looking back over the years, I believe that all of these very early experiences and teachings helped to create my eventual path in life and make me what I am today.
Values mostly come from family -- but they also come from outside sources too, such as religion, books, movies and TV.
If there is one person of media fame who is probably most responsible for creating sensitivity and compassion towards animals, I would definitely say that person was Walt Disney.
It was particularly for his ability to reach out to and influence children.
To this day, the movie, "Bambi" is something that still enrages hunters and the NRA.
I sadly believe that we don't have enough talents like Disney today creating movies and books that help in creating and developing compassion in today's and tomorrow's children.
Were I to pray to the Blessed Mother for anything now, I would probably pray for such a person to soon come along. -- PCA
Written by mandy787 Blog about this entry |
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4/16/08 4:15 PM