Hunting For Trophies

Back when I was a kid, I remember going to school and for show and tell in kindergarten, I told all the kids that over the weekend, I had been hunting girls with my dad.  Of course, because I was only 5 years old, I didn't realize that I had misspoken and instead of saying squirrels, I used the word girls.  My teacher of course gasped and quickly informed my parents of what I had said.

In all reality though, the story got told many times as I was growing up and I'm sure if I was still around them, they would continue to tell it.  It didn't matter that to them that they were hunting for trophies.  You know, killing defenseless animals for the fun of it.

All too often I see people out hunting for trophies.  They go stalk defenseless creatures using sophisticated weapons and scopes.  They learn how to set up their hunting stands to trick the animals to come to where they nap and slumber as they wait for an easy kill.  Then in the moment least suspected by a defenseless animal, they strike and kill.

Now, maybe we should just arm the animals so that they can shoot back and defend themselves.  Even with all the reasons and excuses of people who hunt as to why they are justified, what turns my stomach most of all, is the trophy pictures.  You know - you've seen them plastered on twitter and Facebook.  They are the pictures of them happy as a lark they killed their prey.  The bloody gore-filled pictures posted for all to see as if they really did something special by killing a defenseless animal.

Horses, Buck and My Animal Connections

I was watching the documentary once again about the horse whisperer.  The title of this film is "Buck" and is about the life of Buck Brannaman as he teaches horse clinics and people about the greater truths in life.  I've hardly ever ridden a horse, but I can tell just how much Buck understands the finer parts of life.

Growing up most of my life I have been around animals from dogs, cats to chickens, sheep, and pigs.  My college undergraduate degree is in Animal Science and at one time I wanted to be a veterinarian.  Due to grades not being quite high enough in my undergraduate and financial limitations, I did not pursue this area.  However, I spent considerable time working on and managing big farms.

To this day I still love the animals, although I don't live in a situation where I can be close to them.  There is nothing more rewarding and joyful than to have hundreds of animals that can't wait to come up and greet you.  There has never been an animal that I was afraid of or could not be around.  Somehow I always found a way to make friends with them and do things that most people could not do.

Buck The Movie

I finally got a chance to see a movie that had been recommended to me.  The movie documentary, Buck, is an excellent one to see.  Essentially Buck Brannaman, the horse whisperer is able to get horses to do things that most people could never dream of getting them to do.  It is a story about his life growing up in some very difficult circumstances and ending up living a life that makes him feel fulfilled.

In the movie, it shows how Buck is able communicate with horses and observe the smallest things in them that most people do not observe.  Through his closeness and ability to understand the horse, he is able to be one of them and accomplish so much. I am seeing the same thing in Unified Therapy that I have experienced and am using to learn to heal others.  It is those subtle moments that most people do not see, but if you can notice them and work with that, you will find a way to unlock so much trauma in a person and release it.  It is life changing, just like what Buck does with horses.