Newsletter Articles written by Tera Thomas
Issue 4
Namaste
by Tera Thomas
In 1990 I moved from a small apartment on the Upper West Side in New York City to a 175 acre farm in North Carolina complete with walking trails, a pond, cattle, horses, ducks and a myriad of wild animals. This move was a welcome shock to my system and began an incredible journey of learning from animals. The farm/classroom I was lucky enough to be a part of changed my life and brought about a deep commitment to honoring all species and finding ways to communicate and share a life with them.
Ferdinand, a 2,500 pound Black Angus bull, was one of my greatest teachers. My landlord was a cattle breeder and only allowed this great bull to share the cows’ pasture for a portion of the year. The rest of the time, he was confined to a pasture across a small road and could only watch his herd from a distance. He would bellow and wail at the cows and they would answer back their own lament.
Ferdinand was beautiful to look at, I had never before been close to an animal of his size, and I wanted to develop a friendship with him. Each day I would walk down to his pasture, pick some luscious grass and flowers and wave them over the fence saying, “Hi bull. Look what I’ve brought you, beautiful bull.” He completely ignored me.
After performing this ritual many times, I suddenly realized what a foolish picture I made. Here I was waving my arms around and speaking to this noble being as if he were some little toy who would come to my beck and call. I felt so ashamed. I threw down the grass I had picked and stood watching Ferdinand for a few minutes. I was filled with his grace and beauty and his proud, noble spirit. My heart burst with love for this huge being, the boundaries of my body melted and I was connected to every single part of the world around me. I clasped my hands together and bowed, “Namaste (pronounced Nah-ma-stay), Ferdinand,” I said, feeling with all my being the force of the Sanskrit word meaning “I honor the God within you.”
I was silent in this moment, expanded by my realization and expecting nothing. Ferdinand stopped chewing, turned to look at me, then walked to the fence to push his curly head into my chest. I will never forget the connection and the overwhelming joy that I felt, and I will always be indebted to Ferdinand for this glimpse of truth.
This moment completely changed my attitude toward animals and my approach to them. “We are all one,” became more than a phrase to me. I had now experienced the truth of these simple words and I was suddenly no longer on a level somewhere above or below anything else. I had acknowledged and felt that we are all part of the same fabric and in that moment mended the severed connection between humans and animals within my own life.
Yet, I forget sometimes and return to a place of disharmony with the world. I can make my own needs and desires all too important, trying to force animals into my convenient little picture, my well laid plans. I can become hasty and impatient and feel alienated, alone, as if I have to hold the world upon my own shoulders. It makes things difficult, painful and it rarely works.
Most of us humans have been conditioned to believe that we are smarter, better, above all other species, at the top of the evolutionary ladder. We struggle to discover our spiritual selves and find the meaning in our lives. Animals are unconcerned about our perceived hierarchy, they are not taught that they are separate or that they need specific instructions to be spiritual and, with the possible exception of some domesticated animals, they live in harmony with the natural world. Animals do not consider separating themselves from nature in order to control or dominate it. This does not make animals better than we are, but it does mean that there is a thing or two we can learn from them.
Animals often ask me to remember my connection and live from that space in my heart where truly all is one. When I am feeling this connection, my heart opens to each individual, no matter what species, and suddenly communication is simple, natural and, from this vantage point, everything is alive, filled with possibility, and harmony is restored. Animals live in the present, right here, in this moment. And this moment is the place where we can choose to be connected, where we can remember that we are one. May we all live in this moment and may we all remember. Namaste.
