“Fear blinds you to opportunities and to life”.
Today’s morning walk made this clear to me. Now you may ask me how can a morning walk teach me this? 😃 not the walk per se, but what I saw as I was walking.
As I was walking in rounds in the park, I saw 3 dogs under a straight barren tree looking up and waiting for someone to come down. As I walked near, I saw a cat up on the tree sitting on a small branch fearful of these dogs. However it seemed relaxed and comfortable on that branch. I didn’t see that as a cry for help. I thought they were playing a game. I went past them, completed another round and came back to the same spot to the same scene. But this time another dog added. This time the dogs threatened me thinking I’m interfering with their prey. I stood there rooted and the dogs silenced. Then I went past them to complete another round.
After my 4th and 5th round, when I saw that the dogs are still there patiently waiting, I was perplexed at the not giving up attitude of the dogs on one side and also angry on them that they want to kill the cat. I thought ‘how cruel of the dogs’. But isn’t that the basic nature of those dogs? That’s cruelty to me as I’ve learnt from my upbringing. Then I realised the cat is scared of those dogs and hence sitting up to escape. So I shooed away the dogs and told the cat ‘they are gone, you come down’ and started my walk again. But when I reached there again, the dogs were back and the same scene... Now my anger on dogs increased. So I shooed them again and stood there for a while for the cat to come down. I stood and stood and stood looking at the cat but the cat didn’t come down. Now another passerby would see me like some useless person staring up at a tree. Now I was angry at the cat that it was not escaping.
I was asking myself ‘Why doesn’t this cat use this opportunity of my help of shooing the dogs to escape?’. I then thought that the cat must be so afraid that it just doesn’t have the strength to come down or probably doesn’t want to trust me too. Still I didn’t want to give up (if the dogs don’t give up, why should I? My Ego 😂) Another passerby joined me by then and we both kept the dogs away but the cat refused to move. After much effort he and I both realised that we can’t help the cat anymore until the cat helps itself. And I realised that the cat is an intelligent animal and it’ll escape in its own way. Not my way.
Two things I learnt here. One is how fear blinds us to opportunities to save ourselves and also to trust others. And second, everyone had their own way of surviving and we should help only when they ask for it. But some questions still lingers in me. Are the dogs wrong in attacking the cat? Isn’t It natural? Aren’t we humans too arrogant to think we can control and save everything? Are we beyond nature that we can save nature? Aren’t we too nature? Can’t nature save itself? It’s saved itself for billions of years. We are only about thousands of years old!!!!!
I don’t think we are worried about nature. Rather we are worried about lack of resources that’ll happen if nature isn’t preserved the way it needs to be, to quench our hunger. In my view, if we can learn to stop controlling everything around us, nature will be saved and it knows how to take care of itself.
I’m too nature and just like I respect myself, I respect nature the way it is. It’s a give and take relationship. Nature is not helpless and it doesn’t fear. It’s power is immense. It knows how to protect itself because it knows to love. I’m humbled to be a part of nature. I’m nature.
Today’s morning walk made this clear to me. Now you may ask me how can a morning walk teach me this? 😃 not the walk per se, but what I saw as I was walking.
As I was walking in rounds in the park, I saw 3 dogs under a straight barren tree looking up and waiting for someone to come down. As I walked near, I saw a cat up on the tree sitting on a small branch fearful of these dogs. However it seemed relaxed and comfortable on that branch. I didn’t see that as a cry for help. I thought they were playing a game. I went past them, completed another round and came back to the same spot to the same scene. But this time another dog added. This time the dogs threatened me thinking I’m interfering with their prey. I stood there rooted and the dogs silenced. Then I went past them to complete another round.
After my 4th and 5th round, when I saw that the dogs are still there patiently waiting, I was perplexed at the not giving up attitude of the dogs on one side and also angry on them that they want to kill the cat. I thought ‘how cruel of the dogs’. But isn’t that the basic nature of those dogs? That’s cruelty to me as I’ve learnt from my upbringing. Then I realised the cat is scared of those dogs and hence sitting up to escape. So I shooed away the dogs and told the cat ‘they are gone, you come down’ and started my walk again. But when I reached there again, the dogs were back and the same scene... Now my anger on dogs increased. So I shooed them again and stood there for a while for the cat to come down. I stood and stood and stood looking at the cat but the cat didn’t come down. Now another passerby would see me like some useless person staring up at a tree. Now I was angry at the cat that it was not escaping.
I was asking myself ‘Why doesn’t this cat use this opportunity of my help of shooing the dogs to escape?’. I then thought that the cat must be so afraid that it just doesn’t have the strength to come down or probably doesn’t want to trust me too. Still I didn’t want to give up (if the dogs don’t give up, why should I? My Ego 😂) Another passerby joined me by then and we both kept the dogs away but the cat refused to move. After much effort he and I both realised that we can’t help the cat anymore until the cat helps itself. And I realised that the cat is an intelligent animal and it’ll escape in its own way. Not my way.
Two things I learnt here. One is how fear blinds us to opportunities to save ourselves and also to trust others. And second, everyone had their own way of surviving and we should help only when they ask for it. But some questions still lingers in me. Are the dogs wrong in attacking the cat? Isn’t It natural? Aren’t we humans too arrogant to think we can control and save everything? Are we beyond nature that we can save nature? Aren’t we too nature? Can’t nature save itself? It’s saved itself for billions of years. We are only about thousands of years old!!!!!
I don’t think we are worried about nature. Rather we are worried about lack of resources that’ll happen if nature isn’t preserved the way it needs to be, to quench our hunger. In my view, if we can learn to stop controlling everything around us, nature will be saved and it knows how to take care of itself.
I’m too nature and just like I respect myself, I respect nature the way it is. It’s a give and take relationship. Nature is not helpless and it doesn’t fear. It’s power is immense. It knows how to protect itself because it knows to love. I’m humbled to be a part of nature. I’m nature.
My understanding of this observation is the cat had been sitting there on its own and the dogs got worked up looking and the cat.
ReplyDeleteThe cat wasn't bothered about it and that's why it didn't care to escape
Maybe in life too when we are minding our own work, there are people around who get distracted and disturbed by us ..we should learn to ignore and be steadfast in our business
ReplyDelete