Giving Thanks to the Animals
May 5th, 2016
By Michael McMillan
Thank you Animals.
Thank you animals for your uniqueness,
the inspiration you give, the diversity you bring to share with the world.
To see though the eyes of a Golden Eagle,
To run and jump like the Black-Tail Deer,
To listen like the Great-Horned Owl,
To pick up a scent like the Black Bear,
To feel your way through the world blindly like the mole,
To sing like the birds,
or simply to imagine it,
Would be a great adventure and a gift.
Thank you for being who you are and teaching us to do the same.
Reflecting on the times I have been most amazed by animals, it was always when I set an intention to find stillness and silence in nature. Wherever I live, I always find a secret spot, a place that only I know about, a place that I can go to whenever I feel like I need a little escape. The first time I arrived, I knew it was special and that I should return, I could feel it in my gut. I knew nobody would disturb the peace here, nobody would come thundering down the trail, because there was no trail.
I was scouting new areas in the western mountains of Hidden Villa Ranch. Up and up I went. Blazing new trails, crawling through fallen branches and under trees. The terrain was steep. When I neared the top of the ridge it began to flatten out. I arrived at an opening and saw two deer. They were bucks, no more than a year old. Strange to see two bucks together, perhaps they were brothers. I watched them for a time, then could not help but try to get closer. I went sneaking up ahead toward where they were going, to cut them off. They came slowly, but surely. So I waited, and waited. Then, I saw them and they saw me. They were only about ten feet away. Deer are generally peaceful but it was still a rush knowing that those young, unpredictable one year old bucks with spike antlers could easily impale me.
The next time I went to my secret place, I thought of the two bucks I had seen in the clearing the time before. I closed my eyes to listen. Silence, wind, then, footsteps in the dry leaves. I opened my eyes to see a buck! Perhaps two or three years old with a beautiful set of antlers. He didn’t even notice me, I held still, just enjoying the moment…
We give thanks to all the walking, swimming, crawling, digging and slithering kin that we humans share the world with. I am so humbled while considering how truly amazing the animals of the Earth and oceans are. We remember them today and thank them for enriching our lives.
Animals have always fascinated me. I remember receiving a gift from my Grandmother,a small stuffed wolf. I named him Lobo, a legendary figure in my life. Yes, Lobo was an inanimate stuffed animal but with him, stories were born. Tales of brotherhood, companionship, loyalty, cultivating balance in my life and in the ecosystem. Lobo was the beginning of my deep love for learning about wildlife biology and ecology. The more I learn about animals, the more I learn how deeply connected we all are.
The lives of the animals of Earth to me are a sacred prayer. Each is a unique expression of DNA that has evolved along side us with a unique story to tell. Their lives are precious treasures of our planet’s diversity that should be treated as such.
Being born in New Mexico, I feel connected the Zuni people who are native to those lands. The Zuni are especially known for their many animal totems. My Father and I have a tradition of collecting the totems whenever we travel. Each totem is a symbol for something deeper, often associated with one of the seven sacred directions, cultural values, and environmental phenomena. For example, the frog totem I carry with me, is a symbol of fertility and rain, a blessed totem for farmers. These totems are made from various stones and often decorated with turquoise. Although they can be merely put on a shelf as a souvenir, these totems can be brought to life by their keepers. The Zuni would carry the totems they wished to embody, they would feed them and give them water, to make them strong. The Zuni were wise to devote so much study to the lives of the animals. Animals truly are our kin and our elders. They have so much to teach us about the world we live in.
I was so privileged to have a family who cared to teach me how to develop a relationship with animals who lived right outside the backdoor. This continues to gift me with a deep connection to the land and animals where I live. I remember my first experience seeing a Red-Tailed Hawk. One morning, I stepped out my backdoor to go on a walk. As I took my first step, I looked up to see the hawk swoop down and snatch a garter snake in it talons and fly away with it. Woah!! That was freaking awesome! I was stoked. Immediately, I ran back inside to share with my family. This is a story I will never forget.
My Aunt who is native to western Colorado and has lived there all her life saw the importance of teaching me how to learn from animals. People have always learned from the animals in this land, she said. Way back when there were no schools, the elders would say to the children, go follow rabbit today. At the end of the day, the children were expected to report what they learned from rabbit. The elders recognized the power of engaging a diversity of teachers for their children, so the children would learn from all the animals, and often cultivate a strong connection to one in particular, a spirit animal. This developed respect and kinship between us humans and the animals. Not only that, but these experiences helped develop understanding of how the world really works, on a very fundamental level. For example, why predators like wolves, coyotes, lions, and bobcats are important for maintaining herbivore populations. Furthermore, narratives were born out of our relationship with the animals, and they began to take on personalities of their own.
What is your spirit animal? I always admired those with a strong connection to the animals and even a given name from an elder or from the spirit-who-moves-through-all-beings. I hope we can recreate a narrative where we cultivate deeper connections with the animals native to our land. And not just those charismatic mega-fauna we all love so much but even the smallest of creatures who are equally as important.
A new narrative can be born from the way we teach future generations about animals, our relationships with them and their place in the world. When exploring with young ones I always acknowledge our kinship with the animals and our common Mother, the Earth.
What animals crossed your path today? Perhaps a squirrel, a deer, a mouse, vole? Whoever it was, I call on you to remember them when you read this and thank them for their important presence on our planet and in our ecosystems.
Closing my eyes, I kneel down and listen to the four directions. I let my ears wander to the farthest stretches of the East, South, West and North, listening for the quietest sound.
With gratitude and recognition of the diversity of animal forms on our planet, we give thanks to the animals.
