Happiness Abounds If You Acknowledge Your Inner Animal

Happiness Abounds if You Acknowledge Your Inner Animal

Often we as humans, when describing our place on Earth, disassociate ourselves from our animal counterparts.  We consider ourselves superior since we evolved into beings that use our minds to gain control over our surroundings.  We often consider ourselves above all other species on the planet and no longer consider ourselves as being part of the animal kingdom, let alone being an animal ourselves.

I have a different view on this subject.  I believe we are in fact animals the same as a horse, cow, lion or eagle are.  Yes, of course, we are not running naked in a field, happily munching away on grass, however, when you look at it scientifically we have all the characteristics of your average household dog and if we could learn to live as one we would find the true meaning of happiness.

Now before anyone is offended by me calling them a dog let me explain.  When you research the characteristics of an animal predator, you will find most have forward-facing eyes (in order to judge distance for an advantage in hunting); their young are born unable to walk and dependant on parents to survive (with the exception of some species like sharks); many live in packs or social groups, and they have a social hierarchy with one or two usually being the leaders.  Animals do not live for financial gain, they do not contemplate the meaning of life and they seem to enjoy simple things such as eating, sleeping, breeding, and playing.  They do not stress over yesterday's outcomes, they focus on the moment at hand.  All in all, animals simply enjoy ‘being’ without the worry of ‘why’.

Now, look at humans.  We are born completely dependent on adults to care for us, our social groups vary widely from introverted people who prefer to be alone (just like a cheetah) to large families and friend groups (just like a lion pride).  We have leaders within our families ie. our parents and within our larger social network ie. the government.  Of course, we no longer attack our leaders in order to gain rulership such as our history states, however as our parents' age we then become the “leaders” of the family group and our children will do the same as we grow old.  We have so much in common with our animal counterparts yet we struggle daily to find true happiness in life.  Always questioning the why of everything.

Now imagine a world where we as humans let go of the ‘why’ to life and started enjoying our time here.  Think of it this way, when you walk in the door after a long day of work, no matter how horrible you feel, your pet will greet you as though you are the light of their life.  Now imagine if we greeted our spouses or children in this manner, every time they walked in the door...it would change the emotional energy of the home to a more positive one.  Imagine if instead of stressing over why we are here on this planet we started acknowledging the fact that we are animals, here to eat, sleep, play and breed.  No worrying about the ‘Big Picture’.  Enjoying our time here with our families and friends and embracing all the small wondrous things around us.

The thought of being and acting like the animal I am did not come easily.  We are taught from an early age to strive for success, conform to society’s rules, and find meaning in life.  Struggling to find the meaning of life can lead anyone into insanity as there are no definite answers to this world...unless you are an animal.  Their sole purpose is to eat, breed, sleep, play and one day die.  If they make a huge impact on society is never a concern in their lives.  If they are remembered long after their passing is not a thought that crosses their mind.  Animals live for one purpose only and that is to ensure the survival of their species.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Now that is not to say an animal lives an unfulfilled life.  Have you ever seen a cat enjoying the tiniest sunbeam on the living room carpet, she is fulfilled.  Or horses running free across a field on a warm spring day, they are fulfilled.  Animals have the advantage over humans as they have learned to enjoy the smallest of things to the fullest extent, leading to a full and happy life.

“Stop and smell the roses” is to be the most profound saying as it is very clear in its meaning.  Joy and happiness are all around us if we only take the time to see them. 

In today’s society, it is often very hard to stop and enjoy a budding rose as we focus on how to pay the outstanding bills this month.  Hard to notice a cloud shaped like an ice cream cone when we are always looking down, focused on our cell phones.  We have forgotten the beauty in the world that surrounds us every day.  So focused on money, social media, careers, the past, and the future that we have long forgotten to live in the present.  Forgotten that we are simply animals. 

Will it matter tomorrow if you forgot to make the bed today because you were outside enjoying the warmth of the summer sun?  Will it matter in 5 years if your son did not load the dishwasher because he was playing tag with his friends?  Will it matter in 100 years if you are forgotten because you did not achieve massive success?  If you live your life for today, then no, none of the above will matter.  What will matter is you will have lived a full life.  You will have enjoyed everything around you.  You will be fulfilled and can pass into the next realm, life, or whatever your faith believes in, happy knowing your time on earth was complete.

Simply stated we are animals and we could learn a lot from our animal companions.  Strive to find your happiness by embracing the inner animal in you.  Life is short and we can never get time back, so enjoy your sunbeam as tomorrow there might be rain.

Written by: Bobbi-Lynne McGarry

Goodbye My Sister

We are taught from a very young age that family is the most important aspect of your life.  They will always be there for you even when others fail.  They will stand by you and raise you up when you fall.  Family is meant to be the cornerstone of all your relationships, lasting through weathered storms and no matter the situation they will always be your safety net.

Seems silly to me now, thinking family was a never-ending circle of love and support.  Family can crush you to the core as they know you best and at times they even seem to take pleasure in squashing your hopes and dreams.  They can take your smallest fault, and turn it into a mountain of which you will be forever shamed for. 

I was leaning against the counter in my kitchen, browsing social media on my phone, enjoying the aroma of a 20 lb buttery turkey roasting in the oven.  It was Thanksgiving day and I was preparing a meal for 8 as close friends of my family were visiting with their children in order to spend the holiday with me, my husband and our two youngest.  We lived on an acreage at the time and my husband and I had a friendly competition going on who can prepare the best turkey so he was outside in the garage trying to deep fry yet another 20 lb turkey in 65km/hour winds.  We would have enough turkey to feed a small army by the end of the day. I still believe my turkey won...

As I slowly scrolled through tons of people’s social feeds, a particular post caught my eye.  It was my big sister and I was tagged.  Most likely another joke or cartoon as she loved to post silly things regarding me being the baby of the family.  As I opened the post to read further, I quickly realized this was no joke.  I was being attacked and belittled by my own sister.

My own family, my flesh and blood were apparently in a rage over me not being able to attend Thanksgiving at her home in the city due to us having company.  She was going to make sure the world knew I was a horrible person for choosing friends over family.  The post read like a horror novel, something you would read if you were reading a letter from a mother to the murderer of her child.  So much hate.  So much anger.  Over Thanksgiving dinner?

This was not the first time my sister and I had come to verbal blows throughout the course of our lives, however, this was completely out of the norm.  A public attack over dinner was uncalled for, unnecessary and more than a shock.  Where was all this anger coming from?

Ever since I was a young child, my sister always accused my mother of loving me more.  She always felt I was the perfect child who had the perfect life and on several occasions allowed her jealous streak to shine through.  I am not perfect.  I have failed more times than I can count.  Failed as a mother, failed as a wife, failed as a human being.  I have cheated, stolen, lied and hurt the ones I love the most, so why would anyone be jealous of me?  I feel she always thought I looked down on her for choices in her life, however, I always looked up to her.  I have seen her go through the worst of times and whenever she fell, she got back up and tried again.  She taught me to be strong through the hardships of life.  To focus on the good and to never give up.

Anger boiled up inside as I read through my sister’s angry words.  She must be drunk.  Nothing else explains how a family member could write such demeaning words about someone they claim to love.  In her words, “I was now a drug addict and alcoholic who will throw her children away.  I was a spoiled brat who only cared about herself and was going to make sure our mother only loved me.  I was evil and I will die alone as that is all I deserve.”

What in the hell!

The anger and hurt coursing through my veins were enough to make anyone explode.  Why?  Why is she saying all these lies over a family dinner?  Why would she bring my children into this?  Why would she publicly post such hate and lies towards me over something so minor?  Why would someone who claims to love me with all her heart decide to drag my name through the mud?  Not even mud...through a never cleaned cow stall reeking of manure and urine after years of neglect.  From love one moment to wishing I would die alone is not how a family is supposed to treat one another.

It was at that moment I realized family is never what you hope it is.  She is my big sister.  She is supposed to protect me and we are to support each other not tear each other apart.  I had to let her go.  In my mind, from that day forward I no longer had a big sister.  Let go of toxic people in your life is what the psychologists recommend right, but how do you let go of your sister?

It has been 4 years now since that day.  Christmas is fast approaching and my sister is still on my mind.  Over the years she has emailed me on several occasions, sometimes offering different excuses as to her behavior that day and sometimes saying she hopes I burn in hell.  Most I have not responded to as I am trying to not only to let her go but not encourage a back and forth exchange of angry words.  Yet sometimes I admit her words got the best of me and I had to reply.  The latest of which she stated I was trashing her to other members of our family.  It could not have been less true as I do not even speak of her to anyone.  So I responded in frustration as I am tired of hearing lies.  Tired of receiving emails in the middle of the night telling me I am a horrible person for not forgiving her.  Tired of the hurt.  Tired of so much anger.

I reminded her that she is no more a part of my life.  She no longer knows who I am or how I choose to live and frankly does not show that she ever knew who I truly was.  I asked her to live her life and I will live mine and to never contact me again.  I also pointed out that I no longer worry if she spreads hate and lies about me to others, as anyone who truly knows me today, would know they are all falsehoods.  And I said good-bye.

I love my sister.  I always have.  She was the only one of my siblings who played with me often when I was little even though we were 8 years apart in age.  She came to my school to threaten the bullies when they would not leave me alone in elementary.  She gave me my first beer.  Taught me to draw, although I would never be as talented as she is.  She taught me so much when I was little and I will always appreciate everything she has done for me.  She was my big sis and I adored her.

I will never stop thinking of her.  I will always wish her the best and never hope for harm to come her way.  I will be pleasant when I see her at family occasions as you would to a stranger you meet on the street.  I forgave her a long time ago.  However, I will never have her in my life again.

She is toxic.

I miss the memory of who my big sister was.  We are not the same people we were back then and sadly my family has become smaller because of it.  Sometimes letting go is the best thing for your emotional well-being, but that doesn’t make it any easier to do.

Written by:  Bobbi-Lynne McGarry

Journalism is Failing the Public

As a journalist myself, never before have I seen such disrespect for the media and its reporting.  ‘Fake News’ seems to have become the norm when one is trying to weed through thousands of news stories in order to hopefully find a spec of truth.

It appears that gone are the days of true journalistic integrity when a reporter would not only risk their career to ‘scoop’ the story but at times also risk their lives to ensure the truth was reported in an unbiased and fact telling way.  It is becoming more difficult with each passing day to find a story that does not have an opinion, and this makes our work as reporters feel less reliable causing the public to no longer know ‘who’ to believe.

Our job as reporters is to report the truth.  We are the eyes and ears for the general public on stories from around the world and it is our duty to report the facts...and only the facts.  We must strive to uncover all sides of a story in order to be able to report on it in a manner that does not sway the public but informs them.

So why in today’s world does every newspaper, TV channel, online forum and radio broadcast seem to lean one way or the other?

I love the news, love reading blogs and opinion articles on a multitude of subjects.  When I initially see or hear a ‘breaking story’ being reported in the news, I will view and read several media postings on the subject in order to be able to get the full picture of what the story is actually trying to say.

I feel this method of research has allowed me to remain informed without being forced into following someone else’s opinion.  This, however, is not the case for most citizens.

Many people, like my mother, have their ‘favorite’ TV channels and newspapers they rely on for all their news coverage.  I did not realize the effect this had on my mom until I had a conversation with her regarding President Trump.  To my shock, she was only aware of the ‘bad’ actions of the president.  She was full of anger and hate towards him and justified these emotions by stating “he has not done a thing for America”.

This sparked my journalistic side as I was curious to know how much she actually knew about Trump’s term as president.  I proceeded to ask her some questions in order to dig deeper into her mindset.  Was she aware he secured the release of 17 Americans from foreign captivity in 2018 alone; that his goal to expand the domestic energy production led the United States to surpass both Russia and Saudi Arabia in oil production; he has created a stronger economy which in turn reflects in the US unemployment rate which stood at 3.5% in September, a rate that has not been seen since December 1969; that he worked with both the Democrats and the Republicans on several changes to legislation such as the “Right to Try” law which allows terminally ill Americans the opportunity to try experimental drugs.

These and several other ‘good’ things President Trump has done during his term were things my mother had never even heard of.  Yes, she was aware of the impeachment trial, his indiscretions with women, his tendency to hit tweet on his Twitter account before thinking it through, but in all actuality, she was completely uninformed when it came to any good actions the President had taken.

Is this my mother’s fault for being misinformed?  Should she be forced to scroll through hundreds of news stories to find the truth?  Should she not be able to rely on her favorite news channel to deliver all the facts?

It appears the channel my mother chooses to rely on for all her news is pro-Democrat, which in turn leads to an exasperating amount of information being purposely ‘left out’ of their news coverage.  Now don’t get me wrong in thinking I blame the Democrats for this behavior as there are several pro-Republican channels that also conveniently leave out information in order to sway the viewer.  That is the problem with journalism today.

For news stations and channels to leave out some news in order to give the public a view they want us to see is not journalistic integrity, as it is leaving out information that would allow the viewer the opportunity to make up their own mind.

If every news platform gave the public all the information, and not just the information needed to push an agenda, the public would not follow blindly.  Citizens would be able to make their own choices as they would have ALL the facts. 

I know there are other journalists, like myself, who want to find the truth.  To report the facts no matter which side they fall on.  To give the public a wealth of knowledge, good and bad, so they are informed, educated, and are able to clearly make up their own mind.

Journalism integrity is out there, let’s all strive to achieve it, and stop creating a society that is uninformed and biased due to our lack of reporting the truth.