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This week: If You Could Be Any Animal... Edited by: Kit  
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If you could be a member of a different species, any animal of your choosing, what would you like to be? Would life be simpler if we weren't human? Would it be better?
This week's Spiritual Newsletter ponders those questions, and the problems we face as humans.
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Some days I am grateful to be a human. To be a human being has many benefits. I’ve travelled to different countries and learned about many different cultures. I’m not stuck in a set migratory pattern, or limited to one certain area for the rest of my days.
As a human, I can appreciate art, different styles of music, I can read and write, and observe the natural world and its different species without fear of predators. If I want food, I can go to the market or supermarket. When it’s cold, I put on an extra layer of clothing or turn on the heating. When it’s raining, I can stay indoors and curl up with a book. And with just a few clicks of my mouse, I can learn about what is going on in the wider world, and about any threats to my safety.
Even for a human being I have it pretty good. I live in a place with a low crime rate. On a bigger scale, I’m in a tiny area that hardly anyone’s ever heard about and though that has its disadvantages – slow Internet, for example – when bad things kick off, we’re not exactly a target. The riots early this year never touched my village. There’s nothing to loot.
On other days I think that if I were given the option to come back as anything I wanted, I definitely wouldn’t choose to come back as a human. I’m not certain which species has the lowest level of intelligence and the least to fear, but whatever it is, it would be high on my list of available options. You see, I think too much and I worry too much for my own good. It can turn me into a great big bundle of stress.
I’ve tried to avoid watching the news, but it’s no good. Sometimes I can go days without reading any newspapers, but before I know it others will tell me about what’s going on and then I’ll be checking them out again, because I have this urge to be in the loop. I’ll tell myself that I have to, as I am studying the social sciences, though if I am honest with myself, I know that that’s just an excuse. Human nature fascinates me, the good, the bad and the ugly.
We live in interesting times. I’m not about to wander the streets with a sign held high stating that the end is nigh, but I don’t think I’m the only person to feel that we’re on the brink of something. What that something is, I don’t feel qualified to say. I’d like to think it’s something good. All the signs indicate that it’s going to be chaotic and possibly not very pleasant.
When I am in that mindset, I go back to pondering the question of “If you could be any type of animal, what would you choose to be?” I don’t know what goes on in the minds of other species. For all I know, they’re great philosophers pondering the mysteries of the universe. Secretly, I like to think that their lives are simpler, more straightforward.
The way I envision it, if they have a faith it’s probably automatic. If they believe in a higher being, they probably know it is so, with an unshakeable sense of certainty.
They don’t have to worry about unemployment, the economic crisis, pensions, politics, unrest, looming wars, or the constant pressures of society. They’ll know that life can be brutal, but they’ve been equipped to deal with it and know their place in it.
I realise that no species has it easy. Still, I sometimes wonder what it’s like to be a sloth. Unfortunately, whilst sloths have few natural enemies, one of them is the human. Figures. You can’t get away from humanity.
In the meanwhile, a human being is what I am. For better or worse, our species is stuck with an analytic mind. It is a shame that whilst for many of us our only true enemies are other humans, we haven’t quite got the hang of peace and goodwill for all mankind.
It could be achieved. I genuinely believe that. Some say that humans are naturally drawn to chaos, but I reckon that at the very core of our being, most of us long for peace. What it will take for us to get there, I don’t know. That's the frustrating thing. For all our awareness, with everything our brains are capable of, we haven't solved this most basic of problems - how to get along.
I don't know how many years, decades or centuries it will take for us to get there, but I think that if we really want it, it will happen in the end. When that time comes, I hope the world will be a better place for all species, great and small.
I’ll leave you with the question posed above – what animal would you choose to be?
kittiara
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The Spiritual Newsletter Team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in!  .
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shepherd46 - Great newsletter on lying. My own personal opinion on this is that whenever parents and society accept lying as part of being human, that is when the lie becomes acceptable--a normal part of living.
Thanks so much! I fully agree with you!
~~~
Specter  - Kit,
It is even a greater fault to accept a lie, then present it again for the truth.
slick
Very true, Slick!
~~~
Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,
The Spiritual Newsletter Team:
Sophy  , KimChi , kittiara
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Spiritual: November 08, 2011 Issue [#4704]
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