Dear JC,
I've read your lovely post on dogs a couple of times now and each time I get tears in my eyes. What an honest and loving man you are, and how generous to take the time to share that with us. Thank you for your gift. I really needed it today.
Of all the things you wrote, this sentence struck me the most:
The love in a human heart is not finite.
We need to love, just as we need to breathe, I believe. Having companion animals in our lives is a great help to those of us who, for whatever reason, did not receive the open and safe love so necessary in childhood. Sally, the abandoned pit bull we adopted, has done more for me in this regard than years of therapy. The depth and selflessness of her love, her physical craving for me and complete acceptance of me, are a wonder I will never completely understand.
That said, I accept the fact that there are some people, good people, for whom animal companionship is not important. The most fascinating thing about life is its incomprehensible complexity. I've become a happier person by changing my focus from trying to understand that complexity to trying to accept it with an open heart.
I hope everyone who posts on this thread will speak honestly, even passionately, about the whole gamut from the silly to the sublime. |
