We can learn plenty from animals.
For one, how to endure—calmly and with dignity—what, alas, cannot be changed. Beyond luck, every creature on Earth meets its share of misfortune—plain bad luck.
Search the web for a crocodile without a lower jaw, a hawk pierced by an arrow, or a fox left with only its hind legs and tail. Each was doomed by fate, yet somehow managed to survive.
What’s striking is how little their behavior differs from the others. They still live to the fullest potential of their kind. No despair. No tears. No blame, anger, or whining.
They are dissolved in the flow of being—without labeling it “good” or “bad.”
Of course, animals lack what man has—the gift of consciousness—and so, they’re spared its curse. But unlike them, man has a choice in how to relate to his circumstances.
Sadly, we often turn that great power of consciousness against ourselves. We imagine in detail how perfect life could have been, if only A, B, or C hadn’t happened. These bitter thoughts drive us into despair.
“I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself,” wrote D.H. Lawrence—and he was right.
After all, much of the beast still lives in us. Our split from the common ancestor with the chimpanzee happened around six to seven million years ago, while modern human consciousness appeared only fifty to a hundred thousand years back. A wild love of life still pulses in every cell of our body.
Awaken the Beast within—and nothing will ever stop you.
Yours sincerely,
-Alexander
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