Lessons From the Animal Kingdom

Welcome to the promise of Monday and another in our series of "My Life is Just Speech Material ... And, So is Yours: A Guide to What to Say and How to Say It." ?

Anyone who has followed this series who has or has ever had pets, can already think of a few examples of stories or lessons you have learned from your pets. If we take that one step further to include the animal kingdom, there are even more stories or lessons learned that we can relate with interest to an audience.

Let's begin the stories in this section with a turtle. A number of years ago my daughters gave me a gift of a tiny soft plastic turtle, we named Myrtle, to keep on my dash to remind me to slow down in life. It was a very sweet gesture and I loved to look at this little turtle when I was quickly heading off to my next meeting or appointment to remind me that life is way too short and slow down. I gave a presentation using my turtle as a visual aid to remind others about the pace of life -- where it is and where it should be.

One bright, sunny day I was going around a corner with the window down -- slowly (honest!) -- and I watched in despair as my little Myrtle slide all the way across the dash to the other side of the vehicle and promptly flew out the window, just like she was trying to escape the confines of the vehicle to the great outdoors. I was at a very busy intersection and could not stop the vehicle to try and locate my precious gift. The following day, a Saturday, when I may have been able to retrieve my little reminder, it rained terribly and I wasn't able to send out a search party for Myrtle. I know my little Myrtle is probably, even today, floating somewhere under the roadways, or maybe has escaped to the wide open ocean. Either way, although I do not have my precious Myrtle, I have purchased another turtle to be a constant reminder of the pace that one should go in life -- slowly, savoring every moment.

There are all kinds of lessons we can learn from our animals that can lead to great presentations. My youngest daughter, Lacey, has a reputation for "growing" very large cats! Her precious Tyke is 29 pounds and 36 inches long. Yes, this a domesticated house cat, not a mountain lion! I asked her what lessons she has learned from Tyke and she said, "That no matter how you look, someone will always love you and snuggle with you." Even at his size, he is still her "baby" and she loves him. I think this lesson has made her much more patient in life, especially in the wonderful work she does working with children and animals.

My oldest daughter, Tiffany, has learned all kinds of lessons from her animals. From the tragic loss of her precious Maggie to the funny antics of her sweet Bailey, the lessons are plentiful. Her favorite animal lessons are ...

Her sweet Maggie taught her the fine art of unconditional love -- giving and receiving. She says, "Every day when I came home from work, I got 15 minutes of fame, as if it was the first time she'd seen me that day ... every single day. No matter how bad a day, when I walked in that door and she jumped, yapped and wagged her entire body, I momentarily forgot about the angry client, the stacks of paperwork and the ringing phones. And I could never stay mad at her -- the very few times she did something wrong. All it took was those big brown eyes and a sloppy kiss and I couldn't care about the mess in the next room."

Now she has a rambunctious kitten named Bailey who reminds her to laugh each and every day. About Bailey, she says, "When I least expect it, he's chasing bugs on the other side of the screen door, playing fetch with a piece of paper (yes, really!), and launching a sneak attack as I come around the corner -- leaping over a foot in the air, straight up! Just as I start to get frustrated when he's chasing my hand while trying to make the bed, he stops and flops over, wanting a belly rub -- how can I not laugh at that escape from trouble?"

My sweet Molly was my "Princess Cat" for almost 18 years -- a very long time in cat years. Over the years, her lessons were many. Each morning as.I would leave the house, I would turn around and say, "I love you Molly" even if she was nowhere in sight. This always served as another reminder to me to tell those special people in my life how much I love them. Even now, I still take that extra moment to tell her as I walk out the door.

Another great cat story I have heard involved looking at daily life, in fact daily journal entries, from the cat's perspective. In this particular case it was how the cat was plotting revenge against her "person" for no feeding her the good food that the person enjoyed. It was very funny and thoroughly entertaining.

What lessons have the animals in your life taught you and what would you say about these lessons? We'll continue the discussion in our next article.