We had a pet blessing ceremony on Sunday. These ceremonies are in honor of St. Francis who's considered the patron saint of animals.
We had a really good turnout with more than a dozen animals of all shapes and sizes. We even had a pair of hermit crabs!
The local SPCA was there with a table with information about animal abuse and an animal shelter showed up with a dog looking to be adopted. We had homemade dog biscuits, cat treats, bottled water, and cookies and punch for the pet owners.
People are so affectionate and caring with their pets. We take them to the doctors...buy them special food...we even let them sleep with us.
Of course that's really all animals seem to want from us which is probably why they're referred to as "companion animals." Because they offer us their friendship with very little asked for in return.
We're often much nicer to them than we are to the humans we deal with from 9 to 5.
We can rationalize that pretty well.
You might be thinking that "The people I work with are mean", "they're cutthroat"...or whatever other adjective you want to use to describe them.
And maybe they are.
We bring the emotional baggage of our lives to every interaction we have with others. So if we've had employees who let us down in some way in the past, we as managers may find it hard to trust our new employees. If we employees have had managers who screamed at us whenever we made mistakes we may feel compelled to hide our errors from our new managers.
Animals are like that too. Animals who've been abused become frightened of people. They hide...they cower...some of them may snap. But that behavior is only designed to protect themselves. These animals can be rehabilitated with care and love.
Humans are like this too.
Think about the person you have the toughest time dealing with at work. How could they be hurting inside? What could have created these emotions and behaviors? How can you help rehabilitate them with care and love?
Here's a prayer that's attributed to St. Francis. Perhaps reading it can inspire you to treat your coworkers in as loving a way as we treat our pets.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me so love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it si in dying that we are born to eternal life.
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