What if?

​What if?
 
 
SHANTI LINSEN  D.O, D.C, NHA
 
 
 
l woke up to another thought a while back, of considering nature totally. Man can be very selfish, or better called ‘in-considerate’, when it comes to dealing with the wild animals in the area we live in.
I give you an example: “What if the animals decide, to start celebrating a certain day like we humans do so easily, disregarding the rest of creation”?
Ok, l will explain what l am coming to.
We as humans, celebrate Christmas, New year and a number of other occasions during the year, often using fire-works which make a terrific amount of noise and flashing lights, at a time when wild animals in the trees or even on the ground, are shell-shocked, by the sudden onslaught of these explosions, often lasting for more than 30 minutes at the time. I have casually mentioned this before on another occasion, but there is more to this report than just noise and flashing lights. We will come to that later.
What about dogs? They might like to have such fun as well. So, they decide to celebrate “National dog Day”. They decide to BARK for 30 minutes at midnight on their celebration day, when you have just gone to sleep. That would be nice too, would it not? Could you imagine, all the dogs in the street barking in unison at a given time? One dog barking can just about drive you mad. Hundreds of them …. Well you decide.
Next the cockatoos. They have decided to celebrate “cockatoo day” as well.
At a particular time, say midnight again, all the cockies start squawking all together, just outside your house, just as you are in a nice deep sleep.
What would you do? Yes, come on, what would you do?
I can see many-a-bloke get out of bed, start to rant and rave, run outside and start yelling at these birds and cursing them for what it is worth.
It would not be a very pleasant affair, as you had a big day at work and the kids were naughty, so you are very tired and needed that sleep.
A week later, the crows have their ‘day’ and in unison again, they start to ‘crow like mad’ and they are having fun doing so. Afterall it is their ‘celebration day’ and they are all taking part in this.
Another week later …… etc. (Afterall, there are many animals maybe all wanting their celebration.)
God created all animals to have a purpose on this planet.
God created night and day; the daytime to work and play and the nighttime to rest and recuperate and rebuild. This law is for everyone and every living creature.
Why do we not follow this law strictly and consider others, who have as much right to be here and do their given jobs?
In most cases, animals have better or more acute hearing than people, so they are even more affected by noise, than humans would be. Our household pets are often locked up in the garage or laundry, when we know, such an event is going to take place. However, that does very little for the animal, just that we think that he/she is safe and cared for. It is a lousy way of dealing with the situation, as they still get a shock, each time a fire-cracker goes off. It is not only the noise and the flashing lights, but also the pollution these things create; the smoke drifting into the trees, where the birds and other animals are sheltering for the night. They too need sleep to recover from the day just past, to continue their appointed duties the next day.
Another thing!
When we have a party, celebrating an event like Christmas, the whole family and friends are together and we are eating ‘human food’. During this event, our dogs and cats mainly, roam around and are given bits and pieces of ‘human food’ by the guests, which could sadly affect them.
It is well known, that chocolate is deadly to dogs for instance.
PETS ARE NOT HUMANS AND DO NOT KNOW CELEBRATIONS!
Really, we must start thinking again and deal with this situation in a better way.
During our home celebrations and parties, put your dog in his/her kennel, where it is happy and in a friendly surrounding, being left in peace, without all these strange people trying to be nice. That would be some real consideration and good deed for your pet. What do you reckon? Make sure during the evening, that they are fine and cosy, giving them a nice pat and a cuddle, but don’t get them involved in human activities, such as parties.
“I have never thought about that”, I hear you say. Well, l just made you aware of a grave situation, where we should consider all creation at all times and don’t be so selfish, just to satisfy your own ego.
We are inclined to consider our neighbours and we will on occasions ‘turn the music down’, but there have been many instances, where a war broke out between neighbours, due to the lack of consideration.
As I started mentioning cockatoos and he noise they will make when aroused, galahs are not bad either and they like fun.
I have witnessed many a flock of galahs, flying wildly through the sky, squealing at their heart’s content, especially when a storm is due. They just love it!
Having lived in the country and visited my brother’s place, who grew triticale, the sulphur crested cockatoos and corellas swarmed down by the hundreds on the field, which was freshly sewn with new seed. Once disturbed, they make a deafening noise, which is not pleasant at all. Well, that is the noise you would hear on ‘cockatoo day’.
These are just a few of the birds that would make your life a misery, if they decided to celebrate, like we do.
And why shouldn’t they really?
Where l live, in the tropics, there is a bird called the ‘Bush stone Curlew’. A very lovely, slim bird, which can be seen during the late afternoon, just before nightfall, but ….. the noise it makes is deafening and not very nice really. It is a screaming noise. This bird will ‘sing’ (joke) at regular intervals during the night and a lot of the local people don’t like them.
As it is with everything, you get used to it and l don’t mind them; part of the local folklore. These guys do not need an excuse to have a party.
When l was travelling around Australia a number of years ago, l always camped in the bush and accepted the nightly sounds of a particular area. Some nights it may be the howling of dingos, other times the soft, but distinct humming of the owls and nightjars. I enjoyed these, as it was nature at its best.
Having a very peaceful mind and having been told to do this trip after a week’s meditation, l immediately accepted all the things that were going with it. So many good things happened, as for instance the weather, which was unusually dry and not at all monsoonal, which it should have been. The first clouds l saw in the sky, were in July, 5 months after l left home, when l was travelling into southern W.A. Not a single drop of rain before that and as l said l travelled through the far north in the heart of the monsoon season. l should have had floods and things on my way, but l was totally protected from any harm. l trusted my God fully, as l always do.
‘What if’ l did not plan my trip?  Well, that is another ‘What if’. There are plenty of ‘What if’s’ around, but rather wonder what they may be. Plan the whole of your life with faith and trust and know that you are protected. I was totally on my own, going thousands of kilometres in country without people and sometimes not even trees. The wild, untamed bush can be harsh. (I had one punctured tyre, the whole trip).
One of the more amazing events was a herd of wild ‘brumbies’ (horses), surrounding my 4 WD, early in the morning. They woke me up with their snorting and trampling of their feet around the vehicle. I looked out of my car-top-tent window and was happily surprised.
That is exactly what l wanted to experience. Just the same as the snake slithering oven my bare foot, sitting outside my car, having afternoon tea. Also the birds coming around the car after a few days. l always made sure, l had some seeds handy, to reward them just a little.
Thank goodness, none of these beauties wanted to celebrate a special day, as there were many different varieties of animals all the time. Sometimes l needed to look hard and find some of them, like ants and beetles, but they all fascinated me no end.
Well my dear ones, here is another one of my thoughts put to paper and l hope l have stirred something up in you, to be more considerate in the future and allow nature to work in the most peaceful way. So far l only covered the animal world for consideration, but there is a lot more to think about. Trees are so vital to the survival of Mother Earths and so seldom considered, etc. I have mentioned weeds in the past, what amazing things they can do; also mosquitoes (Yayks).
Who really wants a lot of noise?
Who really wants flashing lights?
Being nearly deaf isn’t always so bad for me, as l can turn off the dreaded daily noise levels and be at peace.
May l ask you to consider the above in the future and allow nature to work completely and peacefully for ALL OUR SAKES. Those people, who have decided to make the ‘country’ their home, travelling constantly in a caravan or even tenting, will learn very quickly, that there is a need to consider nature as a whole.
That there is a balance we need to be part of and cannot be selfish, but we should be considerate and GIVE as well as TAKE.
Teach the children to be friends of the Earth and love and appreciate the existence of all nature and embrace it with open arms, to try and communicate with the flora and fauna in a loving way, so they too can feel the love of Mother Nature and ALL her inhabitants, created so lovingly by God.
For them to learn to attract the birds, the smaller creatures etc. and not to follow he modern trend of chasing and even “KILLING” everything. Everything has a purpose, otherwise it would not exist.
Give thanks to God for putting us on this beautiful planet for us to ENJOY for the rest of our lives. Forgive and forget any negative experiences and move forward with love in your heart.
We may have read in the bible about ‘Paradise’, how magnificent a place that was.
We can still have that right now, if only we would open up to accepting the ‘gift’.
Just one more thing. l am asking you to give up visiting fireworks in the future, so they won’t be held again.
Ok, that is a big ask for some of you, BUT it can be done. We can do anything if we try hard and l always maintain that there is no such thing as: CAN’T.
Over the many years, l have been around, there have been times, l had to bend and accept such requests for peace sake. I did not particularly want to, but l did it anyway and found it made me stronger.
l will not mention one particular event in detail, but l had to give in to a request from the heart, that hurts me still today. This happened 30 or more years ago, but for peace-sake, l did it. Oh, how it hurt then and even now, but l was given the strength to cope with it in the end. That particular event has made me so powerful!
Watching TV the other day, they showed some relations being re-united after many years of separation; mothers who had to adopt-out their newborn babies, because they could not look after them. That must be so painful, for the mother. This would probably be one of the worst decisions one could have to make, to hand over your so-much-awaited baby to a stranger. Wow!
Some mothers were re-united with their adult children after many years and were so ecstatic, but found that the love was still there on both sides of the relationship.          

‘What if’; believe; never hesitate; love and enjoy; trust; be patient and ‘DO IT’.
 
Love to you all, Shanti