the yin and the yang

how many of you run into people...friends, family, co-oworkers, clients, aquaintences...who aren't very responsible pet people? does it drive you insane? do you feel like yelling and screaming or knocking their (or your) head against the wall? does it over-power your relationship to the point of no return?

ok..well then sorry..you've got a problem here.

getting mad at folks who are light years behind you in the evolution of animal care is not only pointless...it is counterproductive. the sad truth is that they are probably comfortably sitting where most of the rest of the world is at.

we cannot expect the whole world around us to change in an instant just because we happen to tell it to. evolution takes time, it takes absorbing new information and creating new ways of thinking to grab hold and really take root.

and pathways that are littered with anger, with drips of blood from bruised ego's and noses, blackend eyes that are sporting frozen ice packs and very long memories of unkind and hurtful words are pathways that get bogged down....evolution just can't move forward with a bunch of toxic garbage blocking the road.

i am in a unique position...as a nurse i go into hundreds of people's homes. and i see many things...not all of them great. but as a nurse, my job is not to judge folks..my job is to competently and respectfully provide nursing care...it is what i am being paid for. i had to learn that there are appropriate times to let animal welfare take a back seat. i had to learn to separate and concentrate on just one thing....what was i there for today.

and that doesn't mean i am a helpless victim either. i can open the door to safe, non threatening and appropriate conversations that respect thoughts and beliefs that are different from me.
if i took on the oft times frequent role of 24/7 rescuer conquistador..you can bet i would be out of a job and rightly so.
we don't have to beat people over the head. people don't have to agree with us, they are not obligated to listen to us, they have a right not to be educated (or indoctrinated) by us..they have a right to choose to travel their own road to possible ( or not) future enlightenment.

i hate to say this...(cuz i do think i have all of the right answers)...but i might not really have all of the answers that i so think i do.... this remote possibility exists.
so i try to share stories, thoughts or ideas in my rescue work, toss out a few non threatening seeds and maybe or maybe not they will eventually grow.

and the thing is that it is not my job to stand around, staring and judging and MAKE those innocent damn seeds really grow.

i see myself as a one who sows possibilities and has faith and yet accepts the realistic understanding that one day they may or may not actually grow.

this is how i can be neck deep in rescue and not wallow in anger....and it is how i separate my paid nursing job from my volunteer rescue job and remain gainfully employed so i can pay the freaking huge mortgage that houses a hundred or more rescued animals too.

this is called balance (aka...the yin and the yang)...and it is just as important in non rescue as it is in the rescue world.
i try to make myself remember (sometimes i do forget tho)...be patient, be kind, be respectful...keep the doors wide open...rome was not built in a day.