\u00a0. . .\u00a0 RON HEVENER<\/p>\n
Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to know lots of interesting
\nanimals. Horses, Dogs, Cats, Wildlife . . .\u00a0 If they liked people, I
\nhad a knack of getting to know them pretty well. When I started my
\ncareer as an artist, animals were a natural subject for me to explore,
\nand, growing up in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County farm country,
\nanimals — and people who love them — were all around me.<\/p>\n
It would be great if we could grow up with a crystal ball and see what
\nlife holds for us. It would be fun if we had a friend who could tell
\nus the future. That being said, as I look back on it, even an animal
\nlover like me would shake his head in amusement and dismay if anybody
\ntold him there would be not one or two, but many special animals in
\nhis life — and he would hear stories of many more from other people
\nwho raise, care for and are inspired by animals, too. It’s enough to
\nmake us believe that animals and people have a lot more going on than
\nscientists and scholars ever thought . . . or would like to admit.<\/p>\n
I like passion and I like creativity. I certainly like to feel my
\nemotions (good or bad) and I like to explore every natural sense with
\nwhich we’re born (or which we are able to develop). Watching animals,
\ntouching them, playing with them, feeding them, listening to them,
\nlooking into their eyes, I feel . . . truly feel . . . that their
\nhearts are “in tune” with the rest of themselves. And that’s healthy!<\/p>\n
Animals don’t speak a language of words, but, for those who observe
\nand listen, they do very well showing us what they mean. Why would
\nscholars and scientists want us to believe animals aren’t intelligent?
\nI don’t know the answer to that. I do know there are different kinds
\nof intelligence and I know from experience that a “paper degree” we
\npay for and frame to hang on a wall isn’t the measure of them. It is a
\nmeasure of our ability to gather and organize information, yes, I
\nwould agree with that, and it’s also a measure of our ability to pay
\nfor the privilege of getting a diploma in the first place. But, isn’t
\ngathering information and knowing how to apply it the basis of
\nintelligence for even the smallest living cell?<\/p>\n
The debate over intelligence seems to be more important to those
\ntrying to prove they’ve got it, rather than from those who are secure
\nin themselves. Animals don’t doubt who they are, why they’re here, or
\nwhere they are going, like we do. Animals just “are” . . . they’re
\nborn mastering the principle of “Be here now” that students of yoga
\nand psychology are struggling to figure out.<\/p>\n
When it comes to emotion, animals are honest. When they mate, it’s
\nwith all the passion and fire in them. When they mourn, it’s with the
\nsadness of all the heavens and all the earth. When they fear or fight,
\nthey give it their all. Animals don’t complicate their lives with
\npolitically correct terminology that confuses or denies honest,
\npowerful drives and feelings. They don’t pretend or deceive.<\/p>\n
It is often said that we resemble the animals to which we are
\nattracted. Most of us have seen pictures of people and their pets,
\nshowing remarkable resemblances of expression, or hair color, or
\nshape. Even though I get around to many public events like horse
\nshows, dog shows, pet expos and things of that nature, I don’t often
\nsee much evidence of that. What I do see, however (and I see it often)
\nis a similarity of personality, or spirit, between animals and the
\npeople who love them. Every species of animal, and every specialized
\nbreed within it, can be described by certain traits or
\ncharacteristics. If you study the breed standards, you’ll find that
\ndifferent breeds are known for their nobility, or their tenacity, or
\nfor their herding, retrieving, or their hunting instincts for example.
\nPeople who love them are quite often the same. If this is true, then
\ndoes “something familiar about” the animal attract people who already
\npossess this quality in themselves — or is the characteristic
\nacquired by taking such an animal into their lives?<\/p>\n
Many readers know that I raise Collies and the kennel was founded in
\nthe early 1940’s. No, I’m not a hundred years old. I inherited the
\nkennel from a wonderful friend who took me under her wing and taught
\nme about animal husbandry. One of the things she insisted upon was
\nthat I join as many dog organizations and associations as possible. As
\nI was filling out an application for the Collie Club in our region of
\nPennsylvania, there was a question: “Why Collies?” I remember my
\nanswer very well: “Because they are always happy. They have a positive
\noutlook on life.” It’s pretty tough to be down in the dumps when
\nyou’ve got a dog wanting to romp and play with you.<\/p>\n
Should we take a tip from the animals we love? Maybe that’s not a bad idea.<\/p>\n
If we aspire to better ourselves, to become true of heart and true to
\nour deepest emotions, animals are the most genuine and unaffected
\nexamples for us to follow. Few people can show us the way to our own
\nhearts because so few of us are permitted to discover our real selves
\nin today’s society. We live in a social system designed to get us
\nthrough school and into the tax-paying work force for dead-end jobs as
\nsoon as possible. Increasingly (and in spite of the principles of
\nfreedom pioneered by Baby Boomers), we don’t live in a system that
\ngenerally encourages freedom of thought and expression any more. In
\nthe past twenty years or so, creative leaders and innovators have been
\nlost to us from bizarre and sinister diseases that no one ever thought
\npossible or disgraced and trampled in the media. As they fall — like
\ntrees being cut down in a forest — their places are filled by others
\nless brilliant. The result is mediocrity in literature, the arts,
\nmusic and movies . . . in laws, politics, and education.<\/p>\n
When leaders are lost, their secrets and inner light are taken with
\nthem. Never again do we hear their voices or bask in their example of
\nlife being lived to the fullest. What remains is our search for
\nsomething greater . . . a nameless yearning for something emotionally
\nand intellectually real . . . A need for something to keep our
\nemotions rolling, our souls laughing and our hearts alive. Something
\nthat we matter to — anywhere, anyone — in a world becoming more and
\nmore difficult for reasonable people to understand.<\/p>\n
What remains unchanged — for those who let them speak — is the love
\nof animals.<\/p>\n