MORE than a year ago, it was sad seeing my huge German-Shepherd dog, whimpering in pain. His ear had got infected, so with cotton swabs, antiseptic cream and warm water in a plastic mug, I slowly and laboriously started cleaning it, holding his head lovingly against me, before putting soothing medication, and adding a few drops of a pain killer!
My dog looked up at me, he usually allowed me to touch his wounds, and I imagined what he was asking me with those brown pleading eyes, “What are you doing master, what are you thinking off? Just cleaning my ear? Treating my wound, or what?”
I touched his beautiful, handsome head and whispered, “I’m thinking of a healed ear and a strengthened you!!” Did I see a smile on my dog’s face as I gently caressed his huge head? Whatever it was, he stopped whimpering and allowed me to minister to him, as I gently applied the anesthetic balm and he continued to rest his head happily on my shoulder.
Today, I pondered on the imaginary conversation I’d had. I thought of doctors or surgeons looking down in the operating theatre at their patients. What did they see themselves doing? Were they thinking of themselves, cutting, slicing and surgically removing some infected part inside? Were they so fixed on the task, they’d forgotten why they were fixing?
Or the patient; did he or she as she was wheeled in, think fearfully of the surgery or happily of being fit and fully strengthened again? What do you think of your morning workout? As a tiresome exertion, or do you see a physically fit future you in the mirror?
And as I pondered on such, I thought of leaders of nations, as they started doing dramatic and drastic things; did they see a nation in turmoil or a people happily living with each other in peace?
Does Putin who is aggressively trying to show himself as a unifier of the old Soviet Union, actually see people in Ukraine living happily with the Russians, in peace and harmony?
And then there was Trump; isolating America, not with a surgical scalpel but with butcher’s knife, as he, leader of the most powerful country on earth, with the power to bring peace to the whole world, instead with furrowed head bent over his repulsive, revolting, rotten tweets!
My dog walked away from me, and in his eyes that day, I saw gratefulness for what I’d done. He knew he was on his way to being strong again. Are we also sure of that as we look at what all our own country leaders and world leaders are doing? It’s time you and I raised our eyes and help raise theirs too, from surgical striking and segmenting and separating, to simple, soothing, strengthening..!
