If we look at the natural world around us with careful eyes, we will gaze upon a book of wisdom. Professor Andy Merrifield, at one point in his life, did this through his friend, Gribouille, a donkey.
Walking through the countryside of
Southern France with Gribouille provided him with “pregnant moments of
meditation.” Travelling with his donkey allowed him not only to draw out
teachings from the animal, but also to ask himself the fundamental questions
that have been with us since the beginnings of history. “Who am I? Where did I
come from? Where am I going?”
Intending to slow down the pace of his life, Merrifield borrowed the donkey on
his trek through the countryside. He soon found himself not merely walking
through a meadow, but on a “journey of mind.”
The donkey taught the professor the value of equanimity when a rearing horse blocked their path. “Gribouille alone stayed calm,” he says, “I had a lot to learn.” The professor began to mimic aspects of the donkey disposition, “taking simple strides and deep breaths,” he found more calm. “Things happen with clarity, with simplicity, decisively.” He also found that donkeys could display leadership, nurturing and care for others.
The emotional needs of donkeys are multifaceted also. They “can
spend days and days searching for a missing loved one; and if too perplexed by
what’s happened…they can go into a deep depression and die of a broken heart.”
Animals are not always the simplistic caricatures they have been made out to be.
Complex and full of teaching, animals offer us many things, friendship and
wisdom among them.
It is no wonder that civilizations that observed the inherent
traits of each animal often chose various animals as representations of divine
virtues in their pantheons.
