I am constantly reminding people that animals live in the moment, and animals are constantly reminding me “to live in the moment”. Like many households, my husband and I have a “lap rule”. If one of us has a cat or rabbit on the lap, the other one answers the phone or checks on dinner. Cuddle time is to be treasured and never interrupted (sometimes we all have to break this rule in the morning when it is time to go to work!)
When I went to Animal Kingdom at Disney, one of my favorite attractions was the petting zoo. There were goats, sheep, and a few other barnyard animals in a large pen. They had roped off several shady areas with toys where only the animals could go. So, if an animal didn’t want petting, they were free to stay private all day. Most of the animals love the petting and happily followed people around (no food bribes).
I fell in love with a goat (more on that later). I spent most of my time there with just a few animals, because as I said, once you are having a moment together it should not be interrupted. I looked up to see a very young boy petting a goat. The goat was in heaven; he had lain down and closed his eyes. After only a moment of petting the boy’s father tugged on his arm and said, “Come on we have to see the rest of them”. I felt sad, the goat was disappointed, and the boy was confused. For the man, the experience was about quantity, not about making a real heart connection.
I know I have written on this topic more than once, but the animals keep showing me how important moments are. All we have is a string of “moments” with our animals. I am a busy person, often up and down from the couch doing chores or phone-calls, but my animals have shown me that I have to make exceptions. I can’t thank them enough!While at the petting zoo I fell in love with this goat (photo right). I started giving him TTouch and he melted (the TTouch is a type of bodywork for animals). In the middle of bustling people and animals, he slept on the ground while I massaged him. I asked him what he thought about getting bodywork and he said, “More please”. Cute!