Most people who have pets at the very least appreciate them, and try to care for them = i.e., make sure they have food, water and shelter, get treated for fleas and worms and go regularly to the vet for check ups. Responsible pet owners will also make sure their pets are neutered (unless they are intentionally and CAREFULLY breeding them) and, in the case of cats, have them as indoor cats to prevent loss of wildlife (which requires things like lots of toys - remembering that another cat from the same litter is the best toy of all).
But what about your pet's development?
Something Lobsang Rampa talks about is the spiritual growth of animals. I think Rampa also mentions that pet owners are responsible for what they do to help their pets evolve ... and that is what I want to cover in this post.
An analogy I've come across and often used is that cats, for instance, are much like toddlers at the "terrible twos" stage of development. Well, they're not quite that bad, but, for instance, my partner and I spent quite a bit of time discussing the character and state of being of our pets (e.g. Willow's losing his confidence lately - and we have spent a LOT of effort "civilising" the stray kitten who adopted us). This is much like the effort one puts into raising children - and is as rewarding.
Please consider this issue. It applies more generally in life as well. There is a saying to the effect that we train people how to treat us by our behaviour (i.e., what we accept without speaking up, etc). Remembering that, unlike pets we own or children that we have responsibility for, you do NOT have responsibility for others' growth, it is worth still thinking about how you may be influencing other people's growth. This also can be thought of from their perspective, in the sense of "what am I allowing myself to be trained to accept?"
As an example, consider a situation of bullying in the workplace. If we do not ether speak up or speak to the victim, we are allowing ourself to be trained to be an accomplice, and we are failing to encourage both victim and perpetrator to take an opportunity for learning.
Worth thinking about.
As a final point, if you think of how you treat yourself, what are you teaching yourself to be?
Love, light, hugs and blessings
Gnwmythr
This post's photo is yet to be posted.
Tags: personal characteristics, personal responsibility, responsibility, personality, emotions, attitudes, animals, pets,
First published: Sunnudagr, 16th January, 2011
Last edited: Sunday, 16th January, 2011
