Has an elephant emotion?
Do they feel empathy?
Has an elephant compassion?
Do they show sympathy?
We recognise those in each other,
We feel so intimately
Are we so limited in our senses
We don't see them in other specie?
Have you seen elephants intently
One foot raised up from the ground?
Do you think that they are resting,
Merely hanging around?
Or is it triangulation sensing
To that low frequency sound
Of another herd approaching
Sending light vibrations through the ground?
Sending light vibrations through the ground?
Have you walked through Tuol Sleng
And opened up your mind?
Did you feel you made connection
With any other kind?
Did you feel your nape hair rising,
Chills go down your spine?
Did you fear there was something there
But not dare to cross that line?
Has an elephant emotion?
Just let your mind expand.
There are senses way beyond us
That we may never understand.
Are they abilities we have forsaken,
Lost to this very modern man?
Perhaps animals still posses them
Beyond what we comprehend?
When we finally talk with every creature
In ways we don't yet understand
Nature could be our teacher
If we could open up our mind
What is known by all God's creatures
Will be apparent when we find
The real tragedy for humanity-
We are so arrogantly blind.
OK hope you're still with me on this one!
There are senses animals and we humans posses- well most of us- that we don't understand. Maybe we will never explain it, or, as science pushes back the boundaries we will discover new 'energies' around us, or new ways of communicating. So don't knock it- I have had enough weird experiences to leave me wondering about the power of the mind.
Imagine yourself 300 years ago trying to explain to your village friend that one day we will see right through our human body...how could you explain X-Rays? How could you discuss thermal imaging technology? Radio waves? Yes, you'd be rushed off downtown and be tied to a stake and disappear in a bonfire! Witchcraft!
Elephants may not have the same nerve and muscular reactions to screw up their face and cry, in the same way humans do to express pain or sadness, but there is ample evidence to prove they still feel the same range of emotions of joy, pain, sadness and empathy with another.
Nature unforgettable elephant emotions
“If there ever were a time, when we can truly sense the wondrous ‘interconnectedness of all beings,’ it is when we reflect on the elephants of Thula Thula. A man’s heart’s stops, and hundreds of elephants’ hearts are grieving. This man’s oh-so-abundantly loving heart offered healing to these elephants, and now, they came to pay loving homage to their friend.”
wild-elephants mourn-death-of-elephant-whisperer/
Elephants do sense what is happening in their environment by 'listening' with their feet to sound carried through the ground- a highly developed sense they possess. Who says they do not possess other abilities?
Check this link out, and think about how other life forms may feel emotions similar to how we humans do.
Whales
5 comments:
Elephants are beautiful and majestic creatures. Many wildlife and animal behaviorists have confirmed their capabilities of sentience. We do, indeed, make ourselves blind sometimes..to the complexity and beauty of other animals, in order to gratify our own senses. It's sad really.
So true Jessica.
We are only just beginning to recognise high intelligence in other creatures, intelligence that rivals humans.
The difference being that we humans only recognise intelligence and emotions from our own parameters or assess those in other creatures by how we express those abilities. Because an animal does not express its intelligence of emotions in the same manner as we humans then we consider they don't or they are of lessor intelligence.
Hi Jim, thank you so much for this. I am working on a project called The Elephant Project through my non-profit organization called Naturestage in order to build empathy for other species and create a high school curriculum using the elephant as a gateway. I thought you would be interested and some of the others affected by your poem in my short film Usthem, which is all about what we share in common with elephants. I would be honored if you had a chance to watch it and share if you think it is appropriate to your mission. Here is the link to the video. http://vimeo.com/22304433
Hi Jim! I'll be writing a post about elephants soon. Would you let me use this poem? I'll credit you, of course, and link back to your blog.
That's cool AJ. And post me a link so I can link across to yours from this post. Hey thanks!
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