"Actually, I know what the best money I ever spent was. The money I used to adopt Mystic."
Her eyes got glossy and warm because she knew it to be true.
We think about the possessions in our lives, the things and experiences we pine for and yet, the happiness that money can buy is often so much more simple than we think. I love my new mountain bike but it doesn't compare to the quiet evenings I've spent with Xanadu watching the sunset from our porch. I assume our own values go into the equation as well but for me it brings up a few thoughts from the last few days.
I live within walking distance of a Safeway and I'll make my way over there on a regular basis. Last week I saw a kind of beat-up-looking Dodge Neon with a couple of cats napping in the back seat. I didn't think much of it at the time; maybe the person was moving or getting back from taking the kitties to vet. Then about a week later, I went to the store later at night-- around 11 PM-- and saw the same car in the lot, the same two kitties curled up in the back window and curtains pulled over the windows. Observing the car a bit closer, it had Texas plates with a handicap insignia and there appeared to be a woman sleeping inside.
I don't know the story but putting the pieces together, I didn't think it was good. It's a tough spot because you can't just tap on the window--who knows what her story is. But the cats... they get to me. I quietly left a couple of cans of Fancy Feast on the back of the car that I had gotten for Xanadu (she had already eaten that night and I was just stocking up). I'm worried for the kitties because it's getting too hot out here to leave pets in the car. I'm kind of keeping an eye out for them but it's such a tricky dilemma. I can envision a lot of difference scenarios but in all of them, I hope the kitties are safe.
And secondly, this ends my month with Mystic. In a little way, being with him has been life-changing. It's been a while since I've had a dog around and it's amazing how much personality he has. He's incredibly expressive, intelligent, playful, restless, lonely-- all the things we feel as humans. I've been rethinking my role in the natural world and I think it's utterly absurd to think that animals don't experience rich emotional lives (there are those who dispute this and yet believe in an invisible man who loves them but may also make them burn a fiery lake for all eternity, but I digress). Sheila named Mystic because of the soulful look he sometimes gets in his eyes, as if he was peering into your own soul but in a kind and gentle way, as if to express some wisdom that can only be spoken through the spirit. His joy and enthusiasm for each day is a lesson I certainly need to be reminded of because this: he's not just some dumb brute who consumes food and can be trained to jump through hoops. It's my belief that he chooses to be happy, that joy for a dog can come as simply as opening your eyes in the morning. Each day is something to greet with a smile, each adventure a leap-inducing frenzy of happiness. His is a good life, he's one of the lucky ones.
And so am I.
I picked up The Emotional Lives of Animals by Marc Bekoff last night and I'm really looking forward to reading it. As much as I enjoy a challenging read, it's sometimes nice to reaffirm the things you believe with someone who is on the same page.
