What Pets Reveal About Life: Deep Connection Between Humans and Their Pets(Animals)
When stepping back and thinking about it, it is kind of odd that as the human species, we take possession of other types of species and call them our pets. And it is even stranger that it is accepted as normal across practically all of humanity.
The Enigmatic Appeal of Sharing Our Lives with Pets
We take animals that cannot communicate with us on any real coherent level, bring them into our homes, call them our pets, give them names, and live with them. We feed them, shelter them, and take care of them. And generally, all we ask in return is that we just get to be around them. But why is this? What is so appealing about sharing our life with another species like a dog, cat, bird, fish, hamster, etc.? Read more about the history of pets and domestication.
The Practical and Psychological Reasons for Owning Pets
Outside of more practical reasons like assisting in hunting, gathering, general tasks, etc., one reason for assimilating pets is the human desire to own responsibility and control. Animals need to feel important. And the need to feel like something is dependent on us. It is both empowering and inspiring and as humans, our central insecurities are almost satisfied by the sense of superiority we experience when owning and domesticating another living being
The Deeper, More Sincere Connection Between Humans and Pets
On the surface, this might sound somewhat feeble and selfish of us humans, but the truth is, although this may be a motive, there is a much deeper and more sincere reason why we like owning and being around our pets. A sense that makes the relationship between human and animal companions a truly mutual, interdependent, and beautiful one that reveals a wonderful side of our nature.
The Mutual Love and Unconditional Bond We Share with Pets
We do not simply own our pets. We love them. We become best friends with them and form bonds that are truly reciprocal and unconditional. We give them access to consistent safety, health, comfort, and other logistical things that they might struggle to sustain.
The Lessons Our Pets Teach Us About Life
And in return, they help remind us of a side of ourselves that we want so deeply to live in but often struggle with. The appreciation for simplicity. The ability to feel free. The obsession with fun. The lack of sensitivity to embarrassment. The disinterest in holding grudges. And the unrestrained affection that our pets possess are all of the things that we long for and wish we could feel constantly in ourselves, but often struggle to do so. And our pets embody and remind us of the importance and possibility of these things.
House Cat: Mastering the Art of Napping
A house cat shares some of the finest spots for catching a snooze perfects his purring, and trains humans in feline whims.
I would argue that the elements of our nature that our pets lack, like complex language, logical understanding, heightened self-awareness, etc. are all equally beautiful and essential to what makes the human experience so uniquely wonderful. Yet I would also argue that it can be very easy to become lost in this part of ourselves. The part that needs to understand and control everything. And our animal companions help show us that we don’t always need to. Sometimes, the best way to live life is simply to take it as it is. Feeling it. Playing in it. Rolling in its grass. And so perhaps at the end of the day, even though we may like to think that our pets depend on us, it may be more so the other way around.