The "Not-Sees" and the Starfish

I've been reading more lately. Mostly in an attempt to avoid doing the things I REALLY need to do: THE TAXES & THE CLOTHES.

Last week I went out to St. George, Utah to spend a week with my friend, Katie. She really wanted to visit this animal sanctuary, Best Friends, because she had watched this show on National Geographic called "Dog Town". I was initially reluctant, since, during a sick day in bed, I had happened upon an "Animal Cops" marathon. The result was a day of me balling and snottering like I haven' t done in years. It was probably therapeutic, but mostly I was left feeling depressed at the awful things people CONTINUE to do to dogs ( and kids, and the elderly, and each other...). It is one thing to know that awful things happen, but when we are confronted with the graphic details, it is hard to remain a "Not-See".

What is a "Not-See"? I was just perusing the "O" magazine I purchased at the airport for my return flight from Utah. The theme of the issue was spirituality, and someone named Kate Braestrup wrote this short piece on how her son would draw lots of "war" pictures when he was little. The good guys always had the American Flag and U.S. drawn on them, and the bad guys had swastika and and were labled as "NOT-SEES". She ellaborates on how evil is perpetuated by "a failure of vision" or NOT SEEING.

I know that for me it is easier to go through life not seeing, because once you SEE, then you are forced to:
Acknowledge what you see OR you are forced into a state of denial by pretending that you didn't REALLY see, but you know you did see, so you end up with that uneasy "guilty gut" feeling.

Acknowledging what you see isn't any easier than denial, because if you truly acknowledge what you see, then you know you must take action -- or you SHOULD take action. And, if you don't DO something, then you end up with severe "guilty gut".

When you do SEE and you know you should DO something, then you (or at least I) go through a process of intellectualizing all of the reasons that there is really nothing that you could do to change things. All of the reasons why it wouldn't work. I mean, " Who am I to change anything?" For the love of God, I have 4 years of taxes to do, and I can't seem to get my clothes organized and put away. I need to remove the stick in my own eye before I try to save the world. With enough intellectualization, I can almost unacknowledge what at one point I clearly SAW. I become a "NOT-SEE". I think to me a "NOT-SEE" is one who CHOOSES to UN-SEE.

We ended up going to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, because I picked up a brochure in the stand at the condo office, and it didn't look too depressing. As we drove there, I wondered what in the world a place would look like that had over 2,000 animals: dogs, cats, horses, burros, goats, rabbits, birds, farm animals, etc. And they took "special needs" animals, and the animals could stay there for their entire lives if they weren't adopted. I kept wondering what kind of lunatics would run such a place. It seemed pretty crazy and not really possible.

We drove through gorgeous country -- Utah's red rock and canyons define VAST. We went through this little town of Kanab, and we followed the signs -- turning off a highway up a scenic road to a "Welcome Center". We went in and everyone was so nice and happy, and they said the next tour was in 20 minutes and they were about to start a video with some information on the sanctuary. I can't remember if it was before or during the video, when I kept thinking, "They are throwing back the starfish." Everything I saw both in the video and on the tour, over and over again, I kept saying silently "they are throwing back the starfish". I was saying it like a silent prayer or mantra over and over.

"Throwing Back the Starfish" was shorthand for the story about the man seen throwing back the starfish that had washed ashore one at a time. A passerby said something to the effect of, "there are so many. The whole beach is covered as far as you can see. You can't make a difference". As he throws a starfish back into the sea, the man says, "I made a difference to that one". I can't remember where I first read the story. I think it was either Wayne Dyer or Stephen Covey. Anyway, I was astounded by both the idealism: Our Goal is No Homeless Pets, as well as the amazing professionalism and organization of the place.

After the tour, we went into the Gift Shop, and I bought a hat and a couple of books. The first book, "Java" is written by a woman who has a fearful dog, and she learns Tellington T-Touch. It was good, but pretty Sedona "New Age-y". The second book was "Best Friends: The True Story of the World's Most Beloved Animal Sanctuary". I got the Best Friends book, because I was curious as to how a small group of ideological vegan "hippies" had put together such an organized, "well oiled machine". I started reading the book once I got back home, and when I read the "Throwing Back the Starfish" analogy in the Prologue, I was hooked.

At one point, I turned to my husband as we were reading in bed and said, "Now I know why they are so organized and were able to get things done -- They're British." I know that the "hippie" generation now runs the world and fortune 500 companies, but I just couldn't picture American Vegetarian Hippies executing a Disney-esque (in the best ways) animal saving empire in the 70's. Not that I am an expert on the accomplishments of American Vegetarian Hippies, but somehow, I could picture the Brits no-nonsense approach.

There is a lot of genius to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. It was truly the highlight of my trip, and I can't wait to go back. You can actually stay there in pet-friendly accomodations and volunteer: walking and grooming animals, cleaning up, feeding. You can even "check out" animals for overnight visits as long as you are staying in a "pet-friendly" place. It was really amazing.

So, these people saw suffering, and they did something about it. And, while it is certainly a "well-oiled machine" now, they have had very rough times with funding and building things themselves. But, it's very inspirational.

Now, if I could just SEE to get those taxes done and get these clothes organized and put away :) There is a need to take care of one's own business prior to taking care of the world's, but refusing to deal with my own needs is perhaps the worst kind of "NO-SEE".