Rescue Journal

saints magic

Carol  ·  Jan. 11, 2009

i like watching animals grow. while humans are kind of stuck in the mud and resist evolving like it is some kind of personal admission of fault or inadequacy...animals aren't quite so stupid and slow. they have to evolve in order to survive and prosper. we think maintaining the status quo of illusionist living is safer and more to our advantage somehow. this is why 99% of all dogs can be "trained" while only 1% of humans can be successful at this.

and what is "training" anyway?...imposing someone else's will on another? or teaching how to be cooperative and flexible and to go with the flow? it is both, depending on what motivates it...a need for power and control? or a need to survive happily and safely?

i don't "train"...not interested, not committed or consistent enough. but i do watch them figure stuff out for themselves. they make a few mistakes, stop and re-think, watch what the other dogs and cats are doing to achieve success and then they start to change.

chyna, star, cleo, este, al, rainbow, boo, clara and bitsy....not well socialized...kind of clueless about certain things... sharing space, fun toys, food, living areas with dogs and or cats, dealing with lots of different folks and personalities. i look back on who they were when they got here and who they are now....it is really quite amazing...they are bigger, rounder, more inclusive...they are more patient, tolerant...they are smarter, deeper and better than they were.

i could sit here and bullshit you and tell you how great i art...but i ain't great, they are. some can't change all that much...dixie chick is a perfect example, the feral runs too deep. phoebe made some strides forward and some backward steps too...but not from lack of trying so much as from who she is at her core. these animals don't become someone else, they just become all they can be.

i think if there is a god, the last thing he'd want is us sitting nicely and staying pretty and shaking a paw real friendly-like because it worked best for him and he said so anyway.

free will, to make mistakes, to do bad things, to learn and to grow and become more than even he could think.

why teach an old dog new tricks? maybe letting an old horse or dog or cat determine what works best for them would be so much more interesting.

i am really starting to like chyna and star and al. they are growing into phenomenol personalities...richer, fuller, more than even 3 dimensional, layer upon layer of personality and possibility and all on their own.

este has some work still to do but even she is slowly figuring some things out and cleo...well except for the little setback in the not icky doorless room is not even the same dog that she was.

if i was to pick one word to define saints...it would not be compassion, or kindness or responsibility or respect (altho these words are a huge part of here)...it would be.... possibility.
that is the magic word around here. it is a great word without limitations....possibility never ends.

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