There have been moments in my life where I felt no more in control of my reality than an animal in a cage. What unexpectedly gave me solace in that state was a sort of acceptance. I sat myself next to them and genuinely saw myself as no better than, and no more powerful. I imagined the calm of some of those animals under those conditions. It made me envy their inability to wonder why, to contemplate their existence, & to suffer in all the ways that ability additionally allows.
Depending on the species, many of them would likely be suffering more in the wild. It can be brutal & gruesome. Like myself…from my perspective of reality in those moments, animals don’t have to be in a literal cage for the same sentiment to be true. We watch animal docs in the same desensitized way we watch violent movies. I’ve found myself romanticizing the lionesses’ hunts & kills before I came to see how hunger made her everything she was that I admired, and essentially drove her entire life. She’s the Mother of the strongest lions. She’s fast, methodical, stealth, powerful, & terrifying…as a slave to a bodily function. That sounds like I’m implying her misery, but I can’t say what I don’t see. Beyond moments of injury or loss; I don’t see an ounce of suffering in her eyes, or hear it in her roar. She just is what she is….a great teacher.
Much different is the nature of the gorilla in the wild and in captivity. Within groups they are cool and calm. They also don’t require blood to live. I hope to one day to be so truly who and what I am, that I emulate half its mindful state. That’s not the case for all animals though. Some are genetically predisposed for a life that requires freedom, like Cheetahs. I’m sure I don’t like to watch them because when I do that’s all I see. I see whatever I’m projecting onto them at the time, as well as what’s not being reflected back—no different than any human mirror. Like when not observing any degree of existentialism in some humans much like animals. We can learn from anyone.
Like from all of the animals humans are fascinated with documenting; yet you don’t see a single one in captivity. Trust that it’s only because they were too hard wired to be domesticated, or else they would be. One of the hardest things for a human to tame is the instinct to travel fast and far. That’s why they’ve never been able to keep a Great White in an enclosure for too long. There’s a lesson there too.
Titaness Writes 