4 Things I’ve Learned From Owning A Pet

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1. Most Of What I Concern Myself With Is Trivial

The day-to-day anxiety and to-do lists I make myself are important, but only to a certain extent. Owning a pet is a reminder that yes I’m human, but there are literally billions of other organisms out there living their own life. They have needs, wants, desires even, and some of them are simply concerned with feeling good and living the way they were meant to live. Pets “go with the flow” way better than humans.

2. The Golden Rule Applies To Everything

Treat others the way you want to be treated. My coworkers have a saying as of late – leave it better than you left it. If we decide that these sorts of “golden rules” mean something, then we have to apply them to everything in our lives. Everything means pets, the earth, humans, and whatever else it might be. If you’re a pet owner then you probably understand that your pet is just another member of the family and that makes sense because in your heart you want to treat him or her the way you want to be treated.

3. My Schedule Is Not The Most Important Thing In The World

Other things are happening besides me. It may be tough for you to realize, but life will go on without you. In fact, it does. Other people have lives and I’ll tell you what I know for sure – your dog, cat, reptile, fish, and all those other things we care for day in and day out have lives too. You have to follow your heart in your passions and pursuits, but if you made the conscious decision to care for another living being, you have to stick to that commitment because they exist right there beside you too.

4. Having Fun Is Maybe The Most Important Thing In Life

As humans, we complicate life. We deal with manmade anxiety provoking concepts such as insurance for everything we do or own, and weird made up social constructs like banking, credit and debt. All of that is on top of finding someone to spend the rest of our life with, finding a career, or a job to make ends mean, and so on. We can easily get caught up in the all that, but our pets – well, they just want to stay healthy, eat some treats from time to time, and play with us. Sure, they may get sick (but so do we), they may act out on occasion (but so do we), and they may require some extra attention from time to time (but SO DO WE). Pets are nothing when compared to how dramatic humans can be. So, even in the most difficult of times, remember to have fun with your pet. Remember that they want to have fun, and remember that you should want to have fun with them and with everything else you’re doing every single day.