Photo by: Jessica Trinh
Sometimes it feels as though the world is suffocating from a thick need for perfection. Social media is no help – we see the highlight reels of everyone’s lives constantly. TV shows, Facebook, Instagram… most of it is very staged and only a rare few will share their mistakes or “low points” with the world. So even when it comes to living and working with other animals, we can feel defeated.
Are we all so perfect? In addition, I wonder why it is so important to be perfect. Honestly, it is exhausting to imagine a life in which I would need to be astounding 24/7 in my social life, work, education, fitness, diet and also with my companion animals. In the end, it is an impossible goal. That shouldn’t mean that we don’t attempt to reach it, but I also wish that more of us would laugh at the little “mistakes” or quirks that our animals and we ourselves have. Will the world come to an end if your dog or horse does not act perfectly for 10 minutes? Even a day? Or for 4 years? Or for their whole life? What will happen? You will be frustrated?
It is unfair for us to hold our standards of perfection and own insecurities against our companion animals and expect them to pick it up and attain those goals – for us.