Here is a great quote from The Power of Now that I would like to share:
"Negativity is totally unnatural. It is a psychic pollutant, and there is a deep link between the poisoning and destruction of nature and the vast negativity that has accumulated in the collective human psyche. No other life form on the planet knows negativity, only humans, just as no other life form violates and poisons the Earth that sustains it. Have you ever seen an unhappy flower or a stressed oak tree? Have you come across a depressed dolphin, a frog that has a problem with self-esteem, a cat that cannot relax, or a bird that carries hatred and resentment? The only animals that may occasionally experience something akin to negativity or show signs of neurotic behavior are those who live in close contact with humans and so link into the human mind and its insanity."
I really connected with this passage because of the truths it brings to light. Animals and other beings do not experience the negativity that is present in the lives of so many humans. And, sadly, those animals that do experience negativity only do so because they are so closely linked with the human mindset. For example, my dog is pretty neurotic. She is afraid of most men and I'm almost certain she has canine OCD. However, would she have these problems if she were living in the wild, in a pack with other dogs? She may, in fact, live in fear of humans if she were a wild animal, but I am almost certain that she would not have the same neurotic tendencies she has today. In a way, that makes me sad. It makes me sad to think about the household pets of so many people who may not be physically or even emotionally abused, but who are subject to the constant state of negativity that so many people experience on a daily basis. I have often thought that my own emotions, thoughts, and habits affected my dog, but I have never realized that the general concept of negativity affects her as well.
Of course, negativity in the lives of animals is not the purpose of this passage (or this blog, though you might not know that from the little rant I just went on there). The purpose of the passage is to alert us that negativity is unnatural. Animals know this. Animals accept the Now and live in the moment. They know how to be 100% real, and that is admirable. Even though household pets may feed off of human negativity, they are not, by nature, negative. And we, as humans, should not be negative either. We spend a great deal of our time making our lives a problem, creating drama, and avoiding a positive focus on the good in the now. We should take a lesson from animals on embracing the present moment and just being as we are.
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