Animal Crackers
by Betsy Thompson
When I was a kid, I remember being fascinated by animal crackers. Not only did I love how they tasted, but I loved how they felt, how they looked, and how they were packaged. Each box seemed like an individual gift all by itself whether the crackers were inside it or not. I also loved the concept of lots of little cookies inside a bigger package; all mine to enjoy. The fact that the crackers were different shapes, with different curves and characteristics, also had appeal. I never knew from one minute to the next which creative image I would face; an elephant, a tiger or a kangaroo. I never cared if this or that cookie was completely whole. I was hooked on the total package regardless.
inset1 Perhaps my enthusiasm mirrored an unconscious belief that all animals were delightful in their uniqueness. Each species with its own hierarchy, beauty, and strengths; each with its own color, shape and sound; and each with its own environment, habitat, and instincts that made the rest work perfectly. The whole animal kingdom was accepted as a miraculous package of diversity, endurance, and appeal.
Acceptance Of Everyone
In a world where the need to care for each other as individuals has reached such a crisis, maybe we need to ask how it's possible to embrace every single bird, fish or beast that graces the face of this Earth in its total uniqueness but, still, we haven't accepted and embraced the upright human in its myriad of choices.
We have our own hierarchy, beauty and strengths, our own colors, shapes and sounds, our own environments, habitats and instincts that make the rest work perfectly, too. We are also a whole that is miraculous in its diversity, endurance, and appeal.
I'm sure there have been times in our history when cementing like interests was healthy and vital for survival, but this kind of thinking isn't working for us anymore. Our world is integrating. People are coming together, living together, thinking together, and working together. And every part of this congregation needs to be honored and revered individually for the whole to stay healthy and strong; just as it does in the animal kingdom.
No one says to the elephant, "why oh why can't you be more like the giraffe?" No one says to the rhinoceros, "why or why can't you look more like the hyena." No one says to the groundhog, "why or why can't you fly like a bird, run like a steed, and hop like a kangaroo." We welcome the animals' differences. We delight in them. In fact, we even encourage their uniqueness.
Regardless of what an animal looks like, we accept that it has a heart that beats, a body that functions, and a brain that reacts to stimuli. In fact, we give a lot of respect to an animal's instincts. We try to honor its individuality, inspire its survival, and nurture its continuity. When we don't, that species follows its instincts for survival, whether we like it or not, any way that it can be accomplished. When it comes to our fellow humans, however, we act surprised when the same system is operative.
The human has a heart that beats, a body that functions, and a brain that reacts to stimuli, too. Why wouldn't we need to respect our instincts, honor our habitat, inspire our survival, and nurture our continuity? What if the universe would follow its instincts for survival whether we like it or not; and in any way that it can be accomplished? And will we be surprised when it does?
Be Who You Are!
As a child, intuition played a major role in my life as it does in every child's beginning. Maybe those around me disliked those preferences, but their dislike didn't change what I felt. My instincts came as a part of my package. I was who I was, whether anyone liked it or not. The only thing that changed when I sensed that uneasiness, was my willingness to share who I was. But my integral soul stayed intact regardless, waiting until I was ready to acknowledge that source.
I don't think anything different is happening in this world now than was happening in my family then. All forms of energy want the freedom to be itself, the same freedom we give so graciously to the animals.
If you tried to make a wild beast into a rabbit, it would probably get somewhat confused, substantially frustrated, and justifiably angry -- no more confused, frustrated or angry than any soul feels who is asked to question its own integrity because someone else's is different.
In the grand scheme of things, humanity is a lot like that box of animal crackers. The Earth is here in its splendor whether we as humans are here or not; just as the box was delightful regardless of whether any cookies were in attendance. This Earth has millions of original-looking souls playing around in its total package, just as the animal cracker box did, too. We all have different shapes, with different curves and characteristics, just as the animal crackers exhibited. We also have the fun of never knowing, from one minute to the next, what creative image will face us; just as I never knew when selecting a cookie.
Featured book by this author:
You Are What You Think
by Betsy Otter Thompson.
About The Author
Betsy Otter Thompson does readings, either through the mail or in person, using the Tarot Deck and her own Wholeness Cards. She is also the author and publisher of: "Loveparent - How To Be The Parent You Hope To Be", "Lovehuman - How To Be Who You Love", and "You Are What You Think - Make Your Thoughts Delicious", and has several other books she is preparing for publication. Betsy can be reached at Box 3001, Burbank, CA 91508.
