#173. If you had to describe yourself as an animal, what animal would you select and why?
Lately, I've taken to comparing other people to animals; namely, to dogs. I live in a country where I sometimes cannot distinguish man from beast.
I met a man not too long ago who owns a St. Bernard in Delhi. The city is a little too hot in the summer, so the guy "walks" the dog in an air-conditioned car that he bought for the purpose.
There is a construction project going on near my house. All day long, from sunrise until well past sunset, a group of young men carry rocks on their shoulders. They don't dare stop for a break when the supervisor is around; they don't want to lose the privelege of this job.
I was once walking past a playground. Amid the play and chatter, two boys squared off in some kind of fight. Each had grabbed the other's shirt by the collar and stood there, hateful stares on their faces. They didn't look human.
At the beach one evening, I saw a dog enjoying a faraway fireworks display. He sat staring, and every time a rocket exploded, his eyes opened wide in amusement. There was more wonder in those eyes than in the eyes of the two boys on the playground.
Wherever I go, I seem to draw stares. Mostly from men and children. They feel no shame in staring, which is unnerving. If I ignore them, they continue staring. If I stare back, they continue. I realized recently that my dog stares the same way. As we walk along, if something catches his eye, he'll stop and stare. Totally shameless. But maybe that's the way to live.
Lately, I've taken to comparing other people to animals; namely, to dogs. I live in a country where I sometimes cannot distinguish man from beast.
I met a man not too long ago who owns a St. Bernard in Delhi. The city is a little too hot in the summer, so the guy "walks" the dog in an air-conditioned car that he bought for the purpose.
There is a construction project going on near my house. All day long, from sunrise until well past sunset, a group of young men carry rocks on their shoulders. They don't dare stop for a break when the supervisor is around; they don't want to lose the privelege of this job.
I was once walking past a playground. Amid the play and chatter, two boys squared off in some kind of fight. Each had grabbed the other's shirt by the collar and stood there, hateful stares on their faces. They didn't look human.
At the beach one evening, I saw a dog enjoying a faraway fireworks display. He sat staring, and every time a rocket exploded, his eyes opened wide in amusement. There was more wonder in those eyes than in the eyes of the two boys on the playground.
Wherever I go, I seem to draw stares. Mostly from men and children. They feel no shame in staring, which is unnerving. If I ignore them, they continue staring. If I stare back, they continue. I realized recently that my dog stares the same way. As we walk along, if something catches his eye, he'll stop and stare. Totally shameless. But maybe that's the way to live.
A dog doesn't care what people think. If he has an itch, he'll stop and scratch. If he's tired, he'll lie down, wherever he is. I often see dogs sleeping in the middle of the road. Cars drive around the dogs. They drive the same way around poor people, passed out or drunk in the road. Some drivers angrily honk at dogs crossing the road; they do the same to people.
If there is such a thing as reincarnation, and if I am reborn here in this country, I wouldn't mind coming back as a dog. Maybe a beach dog. Maybe a St. Bernard. With my luck, though, I'll probably come back as a human.
2 comments:
Ha-ha! Great comparison. Don't underestimate your luck though :)
Dogs will lie down wherever if he is tired, but human will not. Humans have too much to care about, life cannot stop just because they are tired as time keeps ticking. If humans stop everything and lie down just because they are tired, they would be dogs, not human.
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