Pets

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I am not ashamed to admit that I talk with my pets.
And with the trees across the street, the flowers in the patio, and sometimes even with the weather. As it turns out, one could say that I am in good company; the aunt of the Dutch King, as well as the son of the British Queen have in the past eluded to the fact that they talk with trees ~ I can only assume that they also talk with their pets, as well as with nature in a broader perspective...

Like many people who talk to their pets, I am pretty much convinced that they talk back to me. Perhaps not in words, or conveying any complex issues. But they are certain to let me know when the food is not exactly as they desire ~ and a look is often all it takes. Followed by the noses going up in the air, and a haughty departure.
It is a lot more difficult to determine what the message is when it is not instigated by my actions. When things are changing in the neighborhood; when something is ‘in the air’ ~ pets have a tendency to  keep working on getting that message across. What it is, who it is about; the bigger the change, the more insistent they are.

And it is not just pets who have a lot to say about those things; as it turns out pretty much all animals react and are ‘talking about it’. Ever wondered why that flock of crows suddenly seemed to take up residence in the nearby stand of trees, making lots of noise ~ only to disappear as suddenly as they arrived. Sometimes already after just a couple of days? Or why that one year your garden was suddenly filled with ladybugs? Why the dove as it flew away dropped that one feather right in front of you?

It is not like only our pets communicate with us; it is just that we get more used to our pets, to the way in which they attract our attention when something is going on. We get used to their ‘language’, just as they learn ours ~ making communication easier.

However, that doesn’t have anything to do with actually listening.
Our pets can have a perfectly clear understanding of what we would like them to do at that moment, and still pretend like they didn’t hear us. With us humans it is often the other way around ~ we are totally aware that our pets are trying to get our attention, yet we truly have no clue.

I often wonder about all the things our pets can teach us, if we would understand...
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