Let me open by saying this isn’t meant to be a book report on The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exuprey. But it definitely will be a metaphysical bowl of spaghetti so for this I apologize in advance, but stick with me because somewhere in here I have a point to make and some knowledge to drop on your ass.
If I actually did receive a dollar for every time someone said, “I WISH I had your gift.” I honestly would be retired with no concern for the future. If at this very moment you are wondering what this gift is, bounce out to the main webpage at www.reiki317.com and read about animal communication. Seriously—I’ll wait for you…
(See—I’m still here, and you’re totally welcome!) So, what if I could wave my wand (yes I have one), recite a spell (plebes call them “mantras”), chant naked under the moon (Haha, no way it’s too fucking cold out!), read some runes (that’s just silly I can’t do that.) – Regardless of method, what if I could, in fact, just make that wish come true? What if you could instantly, with no practice or training, simply know what I know and feel what I feel and communicate with an animal?
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THIS GIFT?
Would you use it like a parlor trick—amazing strangers and friends with your keen insight? Would you use it simply to understand how animals feel and seek to understand them better? Would you actually, in fact, share with anyone you have this gift at all? As an adult it might seem a clear choice, if we were children and you got your wish you might want to learn kick boxing and brush up on your throat punch and roundhouse kick because you’re gonna need both. If you said “I would use this gift to strengthen the human-animal bond between people and their animals” then you’d have chosen my path.
So when I commune with a creature there is mutual respect that is established up front. I become a contracted interpreter with a moral code—I promise to share the information they convey in the precise manner in which they want it conveyed. This is logical, fair and ethical, right? Okay so now what do you do when the information isn’t a message of love, contentment, or a special treat Fluffy might want more frequently? Hmmmmm… stumped? Ah—nope, not you. Of course—you tell the truth and you simply roll it on out because you have a code of conduct! Except the dog just told you the reason she’s pissed off and pooping on your bed is that Dad is having an affair and the woman is in his office and when she comes over she locks her in the bathroom because she doesn’t want “that dog staring at me”? I’ll let you think that through and we will move on to example two for expedience.
You are asked to communicate with a rescued feral cat who was recently presenting with dual rear leg paralysis who can only move by dragging his body with his front legs. The animal is in an unsafe place with 30 to 40 other cats who have communicable diseases and multiple medical issues. The cat has been removed to a safe environment and isolated, had extensive medical testing, and is declining. The animal requires his bowel and bladder expressed 4 to 5 times per day, must remain isolated in a bathroom because his issues could be part of an illness and could be potentially contagious, has had multiple invasive medical tests, and receives daily antibiotics orally through manual pilling. The cat expresses it does not wish to live in this existence, and the line in the sand is: “no mobility, can’t be a cat, no medical, no more rough handling, PROMISE ME I CAN CHOOSE”.
Translated: “I will happily continue living if my mobility can be restored, I can simply be a cat and do the simple things that brought me enjoyment, I need to be able to poop and pee on my own, I do not want any more invasive tests, surgeries, or heroics. Please promise me you will tell them my wishes and I will be allowed to transition if this is my fate.” Let’s take a moment to exhale here… and some deep breaths. So as gently as you can, but emphatically, you must convey this animals needs for quality of life. Be prepared for questions, check. Be prepared to ask the cat again to assure you understand them, check. And promise the cat again, you will make the humans understand you do not wish to remain in this life if none of these things can occur, check. HOLD ON… DID YOU JUST BIND YOURSELF TO THIS ANIMAL AND PROMISE THEM YOU WOULD BE THEIR CHAMPION AND DO ANYTHING POSSIBLE TO HELP THEM? Yes. You did. And now you need to be prepared to sharpen your debate skills on the sanctity of life, the power to choose, how euthanization is not murder, and how you are not actually making all of this up because you are crazy. And you might even throw in a few parlor tricks by answering questions like “what color blanket is he lying on?” Which is actually a trick question because there is no blanket only a brown cushion off of an old couch.
Okay… still digging the idea? Man… you are truly one serious badass. Okay, here we go…
Now, keep in mind, you likely will spend about 25 to 30 collective non-paid hours over the course of 10 more days readdressing these exact same items with a human, bartering with the cat to see if they can just do “one more test” all the while trying to assure the animal you are indeed on their side and they did promise if this test comes back positive they will schedule you to be euthanized. Only to end up back at Square One being told they aren’t sure they believe you because their neighbor doesn’t believe in euthanization and another person doesn’t believe in animal communication. Since you don’t want to abandon the animal, and you are their only link, you sort of open that portal just a little bit wider so they can grab you if they need you, right? Yep. You do. Because it’s easy to say that’s a bad plan since it’s unhealthy for you, but what about this poor innocent creature that literally has zero control over anything, is in agony, and in a state of panic? So now we have a quandary… you have allowed each other in. You have forged a bond in a time of grief, confusion, desperation, pain, and utter terror. You have both tamed and been tamed.
In Chapter 21 of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery we find the Little Prince unhappy and lonely. He then meets a fox.
“Come and play with me,” he says to the fox.
“I cannot play with you,” the fox replies. “I am not tamed.”
“What does that mean — to tame?”
“It means to establish ties. To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world…please, tame me!”
“I want to, very much,” the Little Prince replied, “but I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand.”
“One only understands the things that one tames,” the fox said.
”And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye. Men have forgotten this truth,” said the fox. “But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”
The Little Prince finally understands what the fox has been saying: To tame something means you’re investing time and energy in order to know it better and be closer. When this is achieved you and this other soul become forever intertwined.
If you’re feeling kind of heavy right now I can sort of understand. The thing is, there are definitely boundaries, and ones in which you CAN control. You could totally only take clients that seem easy, for example. Except they all kind of seem easy up front, until you dive in. Or you could just sort of refuse to allow the animal to reach out to you because then you’d have to be involved after the paid call and it will definitely infringe on your personal time, not to mention the checks these animals will try to send you will one hundred percent bounce every fucking time! It’s literally as easy as not responding to a text. I mean, who needs that kind of hassle? And if that’s the kind of person you are, then you definitely did not get this far and aren’t still reading. But if you are, then I kind of hope the Universe does give you everything you truly deserve. ::ominous music plays in the background::
But all in all, there’s some hella huge heartwarming stuff, and there’s so MUCH MORE of that than the soul-sucking situations. Like once you have a tight bond you can be assured you’ll get hit up with some UberEats style requests like “Oh hey hi—JoJo here… can you bring more of those tomato basil cookies?” or some righteous indignation from Bella, “what is WRONG with these dogs??? It is time to sleeeeeeep! Tell them all to shut up!” And JoJo again, “Ha-ha I just ate a bug!” And sometimes, if you play your cards right, you just get some unsolicited love which comes in like a nose boop, a head butt, or a warm fuzzy blanket around you when you’re feeling really low. Because that’s also the amazing part of being tamed… you know when someone is sad and just needs the love only you can provide. And in the end, if my most meaningful gift is to provide comfort in a time of desperate need or despair, then I guess I’ve reached some level of completion as a human. And rather than come up with some super meaningful bullshit closing, Ima just borrow from my bestie JoJo—
“K thanx bye kiss”