Added Benefits in Caring For Animals

The Yang of Smashing Pumpkins and The Yin of Hamster and Fish

I grew up on a farm in Colombia, on which we had a cocoa plantation intermingled with avocado, orange, tangerine and lemon trees, plus field crops. We also kept cattle for milk, meat, and as beasts of burden. We were successful farmers and made a decent living. I was a strong young man proud of my farming abilities, my strength, and my efficiency in carrying out tasks. Also, I wanted more: more production, higher yields, more crops, more cows, more money and a better truck. My main interest was in the cow herd. I went to school from 6 am to 1 pm; then after lunch, I farmed. The milk cows spent the morning in the pasture. After school, we brought them into the stable where we fed them fresh chopped grass, crop residues and nutritional supplements. The grass was hand-cut in the field, brought into the stable on the back of an ox, then chopped and spread into the cement trough. This was done during the hottest part of the day and had to be done daily and year round. During the rainy season the paths became swamps, making walking difficult. The grass cut my skin and made me itchy. It was a test of endurance.

All of the exhaustion and pain went away the moment I sat to watch and listen to the cows chomping at their feed. They would go on and on, chewing and eating until the last bit was gone and then, with their big rough tongues, they licked the remaining juices from the cement trough. The satisfaction of watching my cows eating happily was a pleasure that remains ingrained in my memory. Yes, well-fed cows meant more milk the next morning and more money made in sales. But there was something very pleasant and relaxing about watching the cows eating that had no direct utilitarian value.

Every quality in nature is expressed in two fundamental ways: direction may be right or left, up or down; temperature may cold or hot; speed could be fast or slow. Traditional Chinese philosophy designates this duality as Yin and Yang. We can equally be destructive and nurturing, expansive and conservative. Health is not a happy medium, but a balance in which Yin and Yang can be expressed at the opportune time, and one does not overwhelm the other: aggressive intervention may be needed at one time, but this must allow for a time of passive observation.

Children take pleasure in smashing things. They enjoy seeing a pumpkin blow up in pieces or a dinky car fly at great speed and hit a barrier. Television is full of images of things blowing up: explosions, snow blowing off a skier, ice flying from the skates of a hockey player. Hollywood exploits that innate attraction by inserting images of things being blown up (without the attendant consequences) in every film. The more graphic and realistic the explosions, the higher-grossing the revenues are. Modern industrial society rewards Yang behaviour with unlimited growth, increased productivity, economic expansion, faster speed, higher income, aggression, competition. These things in and of themselves may be desirable, but in the absence of a balancing expression (conservation, cooperation, simplicity, slowness, etc.), an unhealthy situation develops. Climate change is a clear and literal indication of Yang-generated excess produced by modern industrial societies.

As a young man, I was naturally Yang. I was growing strong, was loud, and wanted to change things quickly. Watching the cows eat gave me deep Yin moments where I felt the pleasure and value of careful nurturing. I needed my Yang to get to that point. The Yin moments gave me some balance. Today my house is full of animals: cats, dogs, a budgie, many fish and a hamster. I have two children who enjoy speed, play loudly, take pride in their strength and love smashing pumpkins. They also share my love for animals. My daughter looks after hamster Rigoberta; my son cares for the fish. The children do the cleaning and the feeding of the animals. They conduct research into the care of their pets. When something goes wrong they research the problem and find a solution. My son knows more about fish health than I do. My daughter is well versed in hamster history and is a keen observer of hamster behaviour. I see them taking the same pleasure in seeing their pets happy as I did seeing my cows eat. I trust that looking after the animals will nurture my children’s Yin and help them become balanced individuals. As they interact with others and become active members of society they will help construct a better world for all.

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