Whats the coolest experience with an animal you have had?
Last week I watched a hawk capture another smaller bird in mid-air.
It was kind of sad, yet awe inspiring at the same time.
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An owl.
But back to the nature hike. Not to kill the vibe of the magical night. The moon had appeared from behind the clouds and the sky had suddenly cleared up. An owl was hooting and the stars were more evident than any other night John had ever seen. Jeff Garrison must have had 3 or 4 drinks on this Friday evening because he was a tad talkative. Or he just wanted to get some points across to John James.
âYou hear that owl?â
âYes, sir!â
"Do you hear that owl?â he repeated. âI donât think you understand."
John thought for a second and said, âWhat do you mean?â
"Do you hear the pain in its hoot? Its want? Its desire? How much it wants that rodent. How much he wants to survive. He wants it too."
John was confused at first but then said that he never really thought about it that way.
âNow think about humans too. Theyâre just like that owl. Every single one of them. Black, white, rich, poor, et cetera, et cetera. Every single human wants that rodent in the field.â
âSo youâre saying we want to eat rodents?â
"No! Youâre missing the point. We all want it equally. We all are equally conscious, aware. We all struggle and feel the pain when we donât have the necessities of survival."
Chills ran down Johnâs spine. He was never a racist or prejudiced or an egoist, and he always thought things should be equal. That everyone had the right to live and be happy. But all of a sudden he began to put himself in the shoes of others. Of everybody else. Then he stared at the moon, and the stars.
âThe Universe is soâŚâ both Jeff and John began to say, cutting themselves off at the same time.
John whispered, âVast.â
âItâs sooo big!â Jeff said. "And weâre so little. Weâre nothing. With all the people on our little planet. Me and you, weâre nothing compared to all of them. Nothing! Then you look at the stars and how many of them there are. Each star is an entire solar system. And thatâs only what we can see of our infinitely expanding Universe. There has to be life out there beyond us. But thatâs beside the point."
John continued to get chills down his spine. He thought about the Universe and the stars and the moon and the owl and the rodents in the field. He thought about how life is just life. It just is. And there must be a God. He thought there must be creatures out there in the vast universe who are smarter than us, just as smart as us and less smart than us. We know nothing in the grand scheme of things. In the big picture, weâre just highly intelligent primates. And some of us have the nerve to claim weâre greater than othersâŚthat weâre the best.
John felt ashamed. âI used to think I was the chosen one,â he said.
"Donât worry, you were simply psychotic. Itâs a worthy excuse."
But John was in shame that he put his worth above anybody elseâs, when everybody wants, thinks, desires, is conscious, just as much. Everybody wants that rat or mouse in that field, as Garrison had said.
âWhy me? Why should I be the chosen one, if anybody?â John said aloud.
"Youâre not. But itâs okay!"
Itâs amazing John had gone twenty-three years without truly contemplating the meaning of life, the point of it all. There was no point.
"In the grand scheme of things there is no point, so you best make a damn point to live!"
And that point is to live, but the question is how. John had been so depressed from his lack of clarity that he was searching for a reason to live, but in the wrong places. Whether it was beer or weed or cigarettes, or some image he was trying to maintain. He was searching for a reason to live but it lies elsewhere.
âYou must have many reasons to live,â Jeff said. âCigarettes are okay, but I donât recommend it as your main reason for living! And certainly not weed or beer â those are even worse. But whether itâs animals or writing or nature or understanding stuff like Iâve been trying to the last 50 years of my life, you have to find a reason to live. And you can never give up! Never give up! Even when youâre old and gray and it seems you should give up because youâve done it all! Never give up! Thatâs why I am as wise and resourceful as I am today. Because I never gave up! I keep on striving. I keep on going, and trying to find reason, and I know I donât know everything, so I try to find more. Thatâs one of the reasons I like you so much, John. You teach me things. I learn from you. I find more and more reason to liveâŚfrom you. I may not be schizophrenic, or bi-polar, or even depressed much, or anxious, but life is still a struggle. Itâs a struggle for everybody! Even us ânormies.â And Iâm far from normal. I got the spotlight on me everywhere I go. People worry about me for hanging around with you. They look down on me for it.â
âIâm sorry. I donât mean toâŚâ
âDonât apologize for anything! You are worth it to me. Itâs worth it to see you happy. Iâm happy if youâre happy.â
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In the black Forrest late one nightâŚthis whole flock of small flightless birds chased me out of the ForrestâŚin the dark it was just a gaint mass running and jumping towards meâŚwe got to a light and it was just damn birds jumping and running around each otherâŚI thought I was gonna dieâŚuntil the monster was a bunch of small birdsâŚ
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Many years ago, I looked up one Autumn day and saw a literal river of migrating birds. I was just awestruck, it went on and on and on, just this continuous flow of birds.
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I saw a hawk capture a squirrel on the ground in my backyard.
It then flew away with it.
Very sad but it is just part of the natural cycle of life
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Oh I also watched orcas feast on deerâŚthat was brutally beautifulâŚI have a hard time with people hurting animals but animal on animal violence is diff its how they evolved to survive
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I was about four but I still remember seeing wild boar outside the tent and my dad and my grandpa burst out of the tent and chased them with machetes. Later in my life my dad said that the wild boar would have trampled us if we had stayed in the tent.
lo! this reminds me of the time my brother wanted me to watch an animal show on tv with him. I was hesitant because of my schizo, but the show started out okay. then there was this pair of arctic wolves eating another animal. wasnât much of a fan of that, but my younger brother loved it.
Even if I didnât have schizo, Iâd still be running from those birds in that dark situation.
then again, one can argue: âwhat does schizo have to do with a fear of animals?â
but then again; i have para schizo, so i got some of that para in there too.
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It looked like a dark blob just chasing me thatâs def sz scaryâŚ
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I saw a Bluejay and a baby squirrel fighting, they were really going at it.
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Swimming with wild dolphins when I was 15. Monkey Mia, Sharks bay Western Australia there is a school of wild dolphins thatâs comes into the shoreline since like forever.
Recently there was a possum at my second last hospital (2012) stay that came in for a feed up in a tree in the smoking area. I was hospitalized (my last(2013) about a year later. The possum had a baby and was bringing him/her in for a feed. Just a magical experience amongst all the chaos.
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We found a little beautiful frog in the flowerâs can. I put her in my hand and walked around and pet her and she seemed kinda pleased.
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