Animals Tell Us More About Ourselves

I find it fascinating to observe animals, particularly in the real world where their behaviours are the most relevant. I know I am not alone in this as many others love creatures too.

But we often do so because they remind us of ourselves in some capacity. While they do have some similar actions, we cannot say we understand what motivates them for sure. But we do know they feel and share the same environments we do.

Knowing this, I find it humorous that people who keep creatures in captivity like zoos do not realize there is intelligence there which sometimes leads me to believe there are actions created just to provide amusement or to watch our reactions.

That concept might give way to laughter as we imagine these animals testing our reactions. But let’s face it. They are doing it all the time to their own benefit like getting food or something else they want.

An octopus provides an excellent example as the keepers can attest. Often they are great escape artists because they wish to explore the extent of their environment. It is as if they have agreed to stay but on their own terms.

I even wrote a children’s book on that but in my case, the animal did escape totally. My purpose is for us to try to relate without personalizing the creature to be like us. We need to accept the differences and to learn from them.

Once we remove the tendency to be superior to other creatures, we can truly appreciate them. That is why animals hold a big place in my books for kids. They teach us a lot about courage and their is beauty in their acceptance of life.

I hope one day my books will help kids to see the world as a wonder. We are privileged to live in a world full of life. Animals have their own stories and we can learn a lot. An open mind will help us to navigate the world we live in and hopefully make us appreciate all the life that shares our planet too.