I am not Chinese and I am no expert on Feng Shui but I have a few Chinese friends and I have heard and read about some of their beliefs. According to the Chinese calendar and horoscope, 2022 is the year of the Water Tiger.
Usually, for someone like myself, when I am asked what I think about tigers, I say I love them! That is because I love cats. For me, tigers are like cats but really big ones. But for other people, they might say, they are scared of them because they are big and wild, fierce, and they eat other animals. I can’t blame them because that is true. Tigers are predators. Smaller and tamer animals like rabbits, goats, dogs, or even cows, are preys to them. But, of course, when we talk of the Chinese calendar, we talk of astrology really. But for people (in general) to better understand it, it is related traits and characteristics of certain animals. At least, that is how I comprehend it to be.
When we look at the readings of the Chinese horoscope, we hear the words, “lucky and unlucky”, “compatible and not compatible,” etc. Having been raised in a Catholic family, I do not believe in “luck.” Although you would hear me say the words, “ang swerte” (lucky) or “ang malas” (unlucky) sometimes because I got used to using these words as an expression. They are just expressions for me and nothing more.
What I believe in is that, “one reaps what he sows”. Meaning, if you make good of your life, good will return to you eventually. It may not be right away but in the end, it will. You just have to be determined, patient, good, and true to yourself and towards others in making your way to get your dreams come true through this life.
I am not saying it will automatically be a breeze if you do so. On the contrary, it is a one big, difficult struggle to be doing what is good and what is right in a society that has so many evil temptations going on around to make one lose his way from the good path.
With our pets, particularly, some people are easily or unconsciously lured in a situation wherein they tend to treat their pets as to how they treat a certain property of theirs or a thing they own. And all for the thought of personal convenience and enjoyment regardless of whether or not the animal is comfortable or happy with it. And when it bounces back to them, they would try to blame it on something else and not their own doing.
Take for instance, people who put their pets on very short leashes or in very small cages all their lives. If you put yourselves in the place of those animals, how would you feel? Would you say they were “unlucky”? Those animals were not unlucky but, rather, the humans who took them for pets and put them in that situation are cruel and, obviously, are uneducated.
People who are not conscious enough of their pets’ diets are another example of mindless pet owners who make the lives of their pets “unlucky” for them. We all know that not all human food is good for our pets. That is because our digestive system is very different from them. It is only logical to think that we ought to be careful of what we feed our pets. Not everything we eat, they can eat too. So, if it happens that your pet gets sick because of what he or she ate, please, do not blame it on luck. Blame it on yourself for not being careful of what you fed them.
Another example of carelessness on pets (and this is my personal opinion) are those people who love to breed animals for selling. They are treating these animals as to how they treat a product, a thing, and not as a living thing. For me, this is somewhat like prostitution or human trafficking or selling babies or children. Those animals are not “unlucky”. The people doing this are mindless, careless, and greedy.
So, you see, it is not about our pets being lucky or unlucky during the year of the Water Tiger. It is more on how can we educate others about how to be truly human/humane to animals and not being lower than animals towards animals. Because that is how we are when we are mindless and careless towards them—we are being lower than they are. That is why sometimes, you hear some people say, they love animals more than humans. Or, you would hear them say, the animals are more humane than humans. I think this is one of the important resolution one can make this new year— would you be truly human and be humane towards all creation, or would you rather be lower than the lowest of animals? The choice is yours.
About the Author: Mariana Burgos is a freelance artist. She is a solo parent for 14 years now because she is wife to a desaparacido. She and her daughter are animal lovers and are active in advocating not only human rights but the rights of animals as well.
