The Journey
By Crystal Ward Kent
When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey-a journey that will
bring you more love and devotion than you have ever known, yet also test your
strength and courage. If you allow, the journey will teach you many
things, about life, about yourself, and
most of all, about love. You will come away changed forever, for one soul cannot
touch another without leaving its mark. Along the way, you will learn much about
savoring life?s simple pleasures-jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the
joys of puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears.
If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience
every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go unexamined, no rustling
bush will be overlooked, and even the very air will be inhaled, pondered, and
noted as being full of valuable information. Your pace may be slower-except when
heading home to the food dish-but you will become a
better naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the field.
Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the trail
rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details-the colorful mushrooms on the
rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a
twig. Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we
browse the landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look up, down,
all around. And we learn what any dog knows: that nature has created a
marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of the
seasons bring ever changing wonders, each day an essence all its own.
Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world around
you. You will find yourself watching summer insects collecting on a screen. (How
bizarre they are! How many kinds there are!), or noting the flick and flash of
fireflies through the dark. You will stop to observe the swirling dance of
windblown leaves, or sniff the air after a rain. It does not matter that there
is no objective in this; the point is in the doing, in not letting life's most
important details slip by.
You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less friends might not
understand: spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking for the cat
food brand your feline must have, buying dog birthday treats, or driving around
the block an extra time because your pet enjoys the ride. You will roll in the
snow, wrestle with chewie toys, bounce little rubber balls till your eyes cross,
and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie - with a cat in hot
pursuit - all in the name of love. Your house will become muddier and hairier.
You will wear less dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog
biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old
plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the
crinkly sound.
You will learn the true measure of love-the steadfast, undying kind that says,
It doesn't matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as
we are together. Respect this always. It is the most precious gift any
living soul can give another. You will not find it often among the human race.
And you will learn humility. The look in my dog's eyes often made me feel
ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some flawed human who
could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful companion. Or
maybe she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human
foibles, not worth considering, and so chose to love me anyway.
If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will be not
just a better person, but the person your pet always knew you to be-the one they
were proud to call beloved friend. I must caution you that this journey is not
without pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as
surely as the sun sets, one day your dear animal companion
will follow a trail you cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the
strength and love to let them go. A pet's time on earth is far too
short-especially for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just for
awhile, and during these brief years they are generous enough to give us all
their love, every inch of their spirit and heart, until one day there is nothing
left.
The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon old and frail and
sleeping in the sun.
The young pup of boundless energy wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle now gray.
Deep down we somehow always knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we
gave our hearts they would be broken. But give them we must for it is all they
ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we
cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead - young and whole
once more.
Godspeed, good friend, we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths
cross again.
