Seeking Sanctuary

I have often preferred the company of animals to people. People hide behind brave faces and walls. They keep their true thoughts and feelings to themselves as an act of unnecessary self preservation or fear. We all do this. We all have some sort of desire to show to the world an image that we ourselves have fabricated, of which others will approve. Animals don't do this. Animals are genuine in the moment. 

I was like a child in the pure elation I felt as I stood next to the beautiful giant, Lucky. She was our elephant at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand. During the time in which she was under our care, I grew quite fond of my new new friend. She reminded me of a much larger version of my beloved dog, Pudge. 

Pudge, or if addressed by his full name, Pudge the Fish West, was a rescue. He was tiny when I adopted him. His mother had been hit and killed by a car and was all alone in the world. And to be honest, at that time, I was all alone too. He needed me, and I needed him. 

Now, to get to my point, I believe there are no coincidences. Everything happens for a reason. Every person you meet has some sort of lesson or message that you were meant to understand. Pudge found his way to me to provide an insight on love and compassion. And so Lucky, too, found her way to me. 

At the park, we were presented a video that explained the nature of the relationship between Thailand and the majestic creatures that they admire and yet destroy. At one point, their were approximately 100,000 of these beauties roaming the jungles, but today those numbers have dwindled to a depressing 5,000. What's worse is many of these elephants have been forced into servitude where they are beaten into submission through means we wouldn't use to torture even the worst evil doers. Lucky had been tortured. She had been blinded at the hand of some terrible beasts who owned her. And upon seeing the techniques with which these monsters used to crush Lucky's soul, both myself and the handsome Brit with whom I befriended could not contain the raw anger and sadness we felt for their treatment. 

My time at the park was extremely emotional. When leaving Chiang Mai I cried. I miss the connection with nature which was powerful beyond belief. I miss Lucky and how truly happy she seemed to be free of the tyranny she had once been forced to endure. I even kind of miss the company of my handsome, fascinating British friend. It was in that place, that sanctuary, that I realized that the insight I was meant to discover was my need to be open with others and to new experiences and truly drink in life. So to my friends seeking inspiration; feel comfort in the fact that the inspiration you seek is all around you, you just have to adjust how you view the world.