I’ve loved animals for as long as I can remember. I know I’ve told the story of my first animal rescue attempt when I was fairly young. An injured mouse lay dying near our driveway, probably the victim of a neighborhood cat. Placing him in that shoebox with shredded grass and a little bowl of water did not help. I had even tucked him in with a single Puff’s tissue. Such is the way of the animal lover.
Half a century later, I still love animals and so enjoy watching them in nature. Yet, that innate, unexplainable characteristic still surfaces in me. The one that wants to save the animals in trouble. Even the ones I see in the wild.
One of the great perks of living where we do is the non-stop parade of deer coming to our corn feeders to eat their fill. New mothers with their babies. Mature and young bucks, alike. Yearlings and old-timers. As such, we get to know them by sight. We see both their friendships and their skirmishes. We notice when one is missing from a certain pack.
Over the winter, a young male came to our feeders. The sight of him was gruesome. He’d been hit by a car, most likely, and his left front leg dangled from its skin. I asked our friend Mike to hunt for him, to put him out of his misery. But his searches were to no avail. We could not find the injured buck.
A few mornings ago, as I looked out over our meadow, I spotted him once again, eating at our feeders. His leg still dangled in front of him. I experienced two conflicting emotions simultaneously. Joy that he was here, alive, and taking advantage of the food provided. And then, I felt a deep sadness for his struggle, his injury, and his lifelong affliction.
I always want to “fix” it all when it comes to the world of animals. To most things, really. But, I want their little animal lives to be joyous and happy and free from danger.
As the prayer goes: “May all sentient beings be free from suffering.”
This, of course, is a part of The Four Immeasurables — the traditional Tibetan Buddhist prayer. It begins by saying, “May all beings have happiness and the cause of happiness.”
Ah. But in this troubled world, it seems that premise might be an impossible thing. The truth is, there is suffering and sorrow at times, not only for humans but for all sentient beings.
In my own life, I am thankful for those small moments when I am given joy. Whatever the case may be.
As for the injured deer, I can only hope the same for his life.
And the same for you too. That you may have many of those moments of goodness, loving-kindness, and joy.
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“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh
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“I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.”
― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
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“Don’t go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
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The suffering of the deer. The joy of the moment.
