A Matter of Perspective

I sometimes wonder if animals know what we feel. I don’t know if they are fully capable of understanding human emotions but then, most humans aren’t capable of understanding them either!

At the newspaper office in Clarissa, we have a big fish tank with a couple of fish in it. I like to imagine what conversations they might be having with each other and with me if they could speak a language I understood.

I watch those fish and whenever anyone approaches the tank, they immediately swim to wherever the person is. I’ve been told this is because they are anticipating being fed. I can’t blame them, those fish food pellets look mighty appetizing (NOT!).

But sometimes I think maybe they are rushing to the glass because they want to tell us something.

It could be something as simple as, “Hey, throw me some of those pellets!” But maybe it is something more complex. Maybe while we are watching them, they are also watching us. Maybe they are listening and maybe they are better at listening than humans are.

Maybe they sense it when we are sad or upset and they come to the glass to talk to us. But, since we don’t speak “fish” we don’t understand them.

I like to believe—and this is probably Disney’s fault—that the creatures that we share this planet with are often smarter and more intellectually in tune with us than other human beings are.

I feel bad for us humans, we have a lot going on. We have jobs and responsibilities and things that we have to do.

But maybe we should take an example from the fish. Maybe we should just swim carefree in our “tanks” not worrying about getting ahead or being better than our neighbors.

We wouldn’t need to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will take care of itself.

Maybe we would take the time to stop and listen. In that silence, we might hear something worth listening to.

I think sometimes I can hear those fish whisper, “Everything is going to be okay.”