Why You Should Act Like an Animal

They’re smarter than you think

Photo by Jf Brou on Unsplash

I saw this documentary once about a dog living among a family of deer. Looking back on it, the documentary itself was mostly forgettable. However, there was this one particular moment that contributed heavily to my outlook on life.

One deer was sitting calmly by a small body of water. The dog, rambunctious as it was, bounded up and harassed the deer for a moment, then ran off. The remarkable thing about it was not the dog’s actions, but the deer’s reaction. The deer got super annoyed for that one moment while it was being bothered, then acted as if nothing had happened immediately after the ordeal was over.

I learned a critical lesson during that scene:

I don’t have to hold grudges and relive difficulties once they’re over. What’s done is done. I can simply just let it go.

That deer wasn’t thinking, “What a jerk that guy is! Did anyone see what he just did to me? I’m sitting here minding my own business and he comes up and bites me, pulls my hair, knocks me around, and then he runs off laughing! Seriously, who does he think he is!?”

Nope.

She just let it pass over her and fully accepted the situation as soon as she was no longer in danger.