The other day my friend, Jackie, mentioned that a conversation I had facilitated with her hamster friend, Juan- Tomas had given her a deep insight. It was a short conversa-tion because no matter what question Jackie asked, Juan- Tomas said, “It’s fine,” or “I’m fine,” or “That’s fine.” She got frustrated and said it seemed useless to even talk to him be-cause he’s always just fine. “Well, I am,” he replied. “Oh yeah?” Jackie retorted. ”What about the time you were dying?!” “I was fine then too,” said Juan-Tomas.
This could seem like a very simple, meaningless com-munication, one that would be easy to forget or overlook. Yet, it says so much. How many times do we say that everything will be fine… when I get out of debt… when I lose the ten pounds I gained… when I can quit this job… when Mercury goes direct.
We humans have these large, complex brains that have done many wonderful things and yet, they are completely baffled when it comes to simply being here and being present in each moment. Somehow we feel the need to have things to think about, things to do. Right here, in this moment, is not enough for us. I have often been guided to this place of being by animals and, once there, I realize it is more than enough.
One of my most profound teachers is a horse at Spring Farm CARES in Upstate New York. Belle is a tough teacher, she does not mince words and she does not tolerate a sloppy student. Every time I wanted to talk with her she would make me first totally stop and sit still. She would often yell at me to be quiet and I would get frustrated and tell her I was being quiet. “Not just your talking,” she would say, “be quiet in your whole body.” This was nearly impossible for me and I would become thoroughly frustrated and upset.
On one occasion I had brought Belle a feather to adorn her mane and she told me that she would not talk to me until I learned patience and was able to just be. I dutifully sat on the ground and got as quiet as I could. It seemed like I was quiet for a long time, but I now realize it was probably about three minutes. I cleared my throat and stood to face Belle. She gave me a disgusted look and snorted, “That’s not even close!” She turned her back and walked away. I sat back down and got quiet for a few more minutes. This scenario continued for a while, me thinking I was quiet, Belle assuring me that I was not.
Finally, Belle grew tired of my inability to get to the place she deemed important for me to be and really let me have it: “You are never still, always wanting and wanting. You are so wrapped up in your expectations. You want me to like you, to tell you sweet things so that you can have confidence in yourself, so that you will feel validated. Quit working everything. Be quiet! Be still! Just be! Then you will not need someone else to validate your existence. Then you will finally be connected, and all of this endless searching and wanting and your pointless mental calisthenics will stop. Then you will truly be a communicator.”
Totally devastated, I sat on the ground and sobbed. I cried for some time and then I got quiet. Really quiet. I entered one of those magical moments where it seems the sky gets bluer, the world becomes crystal clear and bright, everything feels so precious and so alive and so connected. And in this moment, I had everything I had ever needed, everything I ever would need. I was complete.
I looked up at Belle, not needing anything from her, just including her in my view. She looked at me with soft eyes and seemed to glow for a moment, then she walked forward and put her head over the fence. I stood and gently touched her soft muzzle, then I tied the feather in her mane. Not a word was exchanged between us, not a thought. It was a simple act of being that changed my life. It was the opening that truly did connect me with everything and measurably increased my ability to communicate with animals.
The divine simplicity of being is a gift that animals offer us. It’s not that we need animals to give us this gift, we actually have it inside of ourselves. But it is the place animals most often dwell and in being with them we can imagine this place, we can begin to quiet our minds and call this special home to ourselves. When we find that place of being, we realize our connection to all of life and we are fulfilled. We are One. And from that place, no matter what appears to be going on around us, every single thing is just fine.