First Parish Unitarian UniversalistLet's Pass It On — A Reflection for Our Blessing of the Animals
Delivered by Rev. Cricket Potter
First Parish Unitarian Universalist - Canton
October 4, 2009
If anyone spends at least five minutes with me, they quickly realize what a huge animal lover I am.
Animals bring such joy to my life, and I experience over and over again how animals have this amazing ability to break down barriers we humans often create around ourselves or others.
One of my favorite things to do is to share the companionship of my pets with others so that they can benefit from my animals’ inviting energy the way I do day in and day out.
When I was in seminary I volunteered for an organization that matched individuals and their pets with folks in nursing homes who didn’t have many visitors.
I went every week with my parrot and my little dog, and we visited Lydia and George. Or rather I should say, my dog Webster visited Lydia and my parrot Lea visited George.
Lydia loved the way Webster would play with her, running after the squeaky toy she threw and bringing it back only to engage in a joyful tug-of-war with her before giving up the toy for another throw and another and another.
And, when Lydia was tired from that, Webster was happy to be lifted up into Lydia’s lap in the wheelchair and sit with her as she stroked him lovingly.
I had a sense that the softness and warmth she felt in touching Webster was probably the only gentle touch Lydia got during the week.
George, on the other hand, was the cynical, reclusive type - a bit curmudgeonly I would say.
But oh, how he his frown turned into a warm smile when I arrived with Lea.
George loved to hold Lea in his frail hand and pet her gently over and over.
They would sit together by the window in his room, mostly in silence in their own special kind of communion, with George occasionally offering some comment about how beautiful Lea was and Lea occasionally offering up a little whistle that perked George right up.
Needless to say, it was always hard for me to collect my animals and say good-bye for another week.
I have also been lucky enough to observe a program called Animals as Intermediaries that goes into institutional settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, and residential treatment centers to bring animals and other aspects of the natural world to folks who are so in need of this visceral connection to life.
The people this particular program visits range from children with severe autism, to people of all ages suffering from the trauma of past abuse, to folks who are mute or unresponsive in their depression, children who are hyperactive bordering on out of control because of varying emotional difficulties, and people with severe physical limitations who are struggling to move past their deep sense of isolation.
In one visit, a boy struggling with his severe physical limitations, including life in a wheel chair, spends time with an injured owl and finds courage for living with his own physical challenges.
In another visit, an adolescent girl who hasn’t spoken in years due to a past trauma amazingly starts to speak again while playing with a therapy dog.
The stories of transformation are beyond words and found in a lovely book called Bring Me the Ocean.
In story after story, this book shows how connecting with animals has helped people so in need to connect back to something they had lost touch with - their own heart and soul – and move past the barriers in their lives.
The scientific world is catching up with these stories by documenting in measurable ways how animals improve us and our lives.
My favorite study is one reported in a recent Boston Globe article*
- This found that seniors who were partnered for a 12-week period with a canine walking companion walked 28 percent farther than before whereas seniors who were partnered with a human walking companion only showed a 4 percent improvement.
- "The human companions actually discouraged each other and we heard it day in and day out,” commented the head of the program.
- “Our relationship with animals often changes our behavior in a positive way,” this researcher went on to say.
And I would say, absolutely.
Animals teach us about being in the present and embracing the sheer joy of whatever comes in that moment
They teach us about loving generously, playing exuberantly, and having the strength to move past limitations we have settled into.
And, as the founder of Animals as Intermediaries has written,
“There can be unspoken messages in interactions with people, judgment about the social structures and rules of what is acceptable and normal to say, express, or do. But animals don’t demand such conformity of a person. Instead, they require only the respect, dignity, and safety that all of us want for ourselves. This is the crux of (our work with animals and people).”
Animals don’t judge.
They simply ask of us what is so basic and true, and yet what we can forget as we get caught up in our lives.
Presence, patience, love, respect, the need for safety –
that’s what animals teach us about -
all stuff that is essential for our humanity and our relationships.
I want to share a story I heard on NPR not long ago.
It was one of those stories that had me pull over while I was driving, first so that I could cope with the tears I was shedding as the story unfolded and, secondly, so that I could write the story down for a time such as today.
A stray cat somehow found its way into the exercise yard of a prison.
This cat was badly malnourished, it’s coat was shabby, and it was generally in need of some major TLC.
Over the days and weeks that ensued, the men there - all hard-core criminals according to the story - helped in their own way to take care of this little forlorn creature.
One man gave it his sweater to use for a bed.
Others brought the cat milk and food scraps.
And soon, men started hanging out together as they visited with the cat. Men who, in the unspoken but rigid social structure of a prison would never talk to one another normally, actually began to interact.
All because of this little cat that needed safety, care, and love.
“We needed to feel needed,” commented one prisoner.
“(Through this cat) we learned to practice kindness,” summarized another prisoner.
We as humans are clearly so much better off for the company of animals.
They nudge us and inspire us to be our best selves when we are with them.
So, my question is:
Do we need to let it stop there?
Can we take what we gain from our relationships with our beloved animals and pass it on to the people in our lives?
Can we all, children and adults alike, pass it on to our family and
friends and all those we interact with –
that acceptance, love, and sheer embrace of moments shared?
In other words, let us all be better off for our company as well.
May it be so.
Amen.
*Boston Globe article on April 20, 2009, citing a study performed by the Research Center for Human Animal Interaction at the University of Missouri.