Ask Amber Donkey - April 2009

Editor’s Note: Ask Amber was a page on our website where Amber Donkey would answer a couple of questions a month. We are moving this monthly feature to this blog now instead, giving others a chance to comment on topics. Normally, we will choose about 2 questions per month. Seeing that Dawn was out of commission with a surgery and recovery for several months, this column has not been updated since August 2008. For this month, we have chosen 4 questions to make up for lost time. Plus, Amber seemed to have a lot to say after a long hard winter! To submit questions for consideration, please send them in an email to Dawn@springfarmcares.org .


1. Dear Amber,
One of our dear cats passed on a few months ago; we were extremely close to him. We still had four cats, but the house just didn't feel right. We realized that no one could ever fill our dear one's pawprints, but we can care for five kitties quite easily and so many are homeless, so last week we adopted another cat. In the past, even though I always take great care with introductions, it has always taken quite a while for the household to adjust to a newcomer. This time it's like magic: the new little girl has been accepted wholeheartedly from the very first, and acts completely at ease—as if she's always lived with us. At first I thought she might actually "be" our lost cat, but I don't really think so. I'm wondering if perhaps he sent her to us. Have you ever known passed-on animals to do that sweet favor for their families?

Amber: It is sweet to feel the gifts from old friends isn’t it? Yes, we have seen that here at the farm a lot too. Frequently our ghost brigade of horses will send someone our way who they just know we would love to have with us. Many times your beloved animal friends who pass into spirit want to be sure you are taken care of send in help. It is a loving gesture and a special gift to receive.


2. Dear Amber,
Please help me with this. I've read your responses on different issues regarding abuse, neglect, etc. How can I forgive and send love to the people in Korea that skin dogs alive and torture them for food. How do I send someone forgiveness regarding a hog farm in Iowa where little piglets were thrown against the wall and the mother pigs were tortured to no end and on and on. Animals are so helpless, they depend on us to take care of them.

I just cannot feel good about this, let alone send love to these people or any person that tortures animals or other humans. I can't get myself to send love and forgiveness to someone that does such a horrific act. I think it's about time not to make excuses for humans anymore. I feel it's about time that people take responsibility for their actions. They have to know that this is so wrong what they are doing.

My other question is: Why do these poor animals keep reincarnating to these horrible conditions? Why would they choose this?

Amber: This is not a simple question and one that I could take an entire book to answer and still not completely fulfill all the questions that people have on this topic. The answer is complexly simple. It is because it is literally a circle. I am not suggesting that anyone feel good about this sort of abuse, neglect, or torture. And that is what it is in many cases – torture. There is a difference in intent when an animal is maltreated out of ignorance and when it is thought and planned out in advance, or for when ignorance is replaced by knowing it is inappropriate, but continuing to do it anyway. The intention of the human is completely what drives the answer to this question.

But I ask you to look at the circle of repercussion that comes from judging others in general. You see, I’m not saying you should go out and love the people who do heinous acts against anyone. But what I am saying is that if those people had felt loved in the first place, they’d have found a place inside of themselves that would have never allowed for the torture and mistreatment of any other living being. A cycle of judgment just keeps moving round and round and round. If humans could understand truly loving who they are, loving one another for who you are, and judging nothing, then there would literally be no abuse. Judgment perpetuates judgment perpetuates self-doubt, perpetuates lack of self-worth, perpetuates dominance over something lesser than you feel, perpetuates abuse, which then comes back to being judged and finding the exact validation that you started with. It’s a big wheel. Somewhere this wheel needs to stop turning. Somewhere it needs to stop perpetuating violence and hatred and judgment. Somewhere every being needs to understand the love that they are and the love that exists in every thing around them. Can’t happen you say? That’s what we hear all the time. Until enough of you think it can, it won’t. Its time to stop making excuses for why this can’t be so. It is the way of all nature to be loving and forgiving. Anything else has been created by man.

The last part of your question about why an animal would choose to come back in to horrible conditions such as these is one that I cannot really answer. The reason is that the choices that each soul makes is solely dependant on what it is choosing to experience, or learn, or teach. To an onlooker, many times these choices do not make sense. In our physical experience, we cannot always make sense of soul choices because we cannot put them into the overall framework and experience at the level of the soul.


3. Dear Amber,
I wonder how you and the other animals respond to Allergies. Both my husband and I are allergic to cats; yet we live with 6 of them (the allergist says we have developed immunity to ours). I have a hard time understanding how people dump or get rid of animals (cats, dogs, gerbils, rabbits, etc.) because they say they are allergic. I understand the severity of allergies and asthma and have had trips to the hospital to help me breathe. But I won’t give up on the love I share with my feline companions. I am also allergic to trees, grass, pretty much everything outside, and I refuse to live in a bubble, but rather work on why I have these allergies and how I can overcome them.

But can you and the other animals help me with my feelings towards others who say they are allergic? How does a cat feel who is dumped because their ‘family’ is now allergic? Does the cat understand?

And how can I answer other humans when I know they are using the ‘allergy’ as an excuse really not share love and not to open their hearts?

Amber: Not everyone is ready to open their hearts as you have. Again, we cannot judge others for the choices they are making. We have many cats here at the farm who have come because their people are allergic. Many of them are devastated at first, but some of them view it as a means of moving on to their next thing in life. Imagine if animals would be allergic to humans! And whose to say we are not? Each situation is unique to each human and each animal involved. I cannot answer this question other than in general terms because of that. Achoo!


4. Hi Amber,
It is my understanding that we are all spiritual beings and that each of us comes here for a specific purpose. Whether it is to experience something, learn or share something or to help others and so on.

What I want to know is even though we may not know what our purpose is, when we have fulfilled it what happens? Do we spend the rest of the time in our physical bodies on a ‘spiritual vacation’ or do we leave soon afterwards?

Amber: Whatever you wish.

Editors Note: I asked Amber if she wished to elaborate on her answer at all. She replied, “what more can I possibly elaborate on? There is nothing more to say. Those three words precisely answer the question in a most profound way!”

Moose

From Dawn:

With great sadness we have to announce that Moose was only with us for 4 short days. His injury/illness had caused him severe neurological issues that he could not recover from. Although only with us for such a short time, we are all grieving as if we had known him his whole life. He left an incredible hoof print in our lives and in our hearts.

To view a memorial for Moose on our website, please go to www.springfarmcares.org/memorials.htm

The Circle Completes - An Old Friend Leaves and a New One Arrives

From Amber Donkey:

This week we are all saddened in the barn to have lost one of our dearest friends – Yoda. Yoda was an amazing goat with a love of life that was so vast and deep that you couldn’t be around him without feeling it. He and 3 other goats were my pasture mates. He was the head goat and I was the head donkey. As a donkey, one of my jobs is to be a shepherd and to watch over and protect my flock. I never really had a flock before though until the past few years when I was put out to graze with these goofy goats. They really didn’t need me to guard them of course. But I did keep an eye on them and watch after them. On certain days, I was even known to play with them.

Yoda was a first rate clown. He was the tallest of all of the goats and he would climb up on the trees and pull the branches down and hold them for the smaller ones to nibble on the best leaves. He could make us all laugh, humans and animals alike, with his large ears and his ability to move them around when he needed to. But most of all, Yoda was kind. His heart was as big as his soul and he held all of us within it. He never was mean or took advantage of his height or stature over the smaller or younger goats. He had spent a lot of time with the llamas when they were still alive and was mentored by Gulliver in particular. He loved to make people laugh, especially when they were taking themselves too seriously. He also had an opinion on just about everything.

We all will miss him greatly. But I think I will miss him most of all for the joy he brought to my day. This was a difficult winter and many of us started to have trouble. Old bones ached a little more than usual, old joints seemed stiffer, and it was hard sometimes to remember that spring would indeed be coming. We had all hoped that Yoda could taste the spring grass again, but his body couldn’t make it. The people here tried everything and took great care of him as always. I love the folks here that care for us. They have been taking care of my old teeth and old bones too.

But just as our sadness came for the passing of Yoda and our feeling of loss for his large presence, we welcomed a new friend into our family. He arrived today and in the same way that Yoda had a big presence, this horse is the goat equivalent of huge. His name is Moose, if that doesn’t tell you something right there. He is magnificent. We all could feel his presence before he even came to the farm. He also has a physical problem right now but we are all hoping that he can heal and live with us for a long time to come. He is a gentle and quiet soul and we welcome him to our home.

If we have learned anything here at this farm, it is that faith can indeed be the bringer of miracles. We have enough faith here in our barn to go around many times. We have seen miracles happen and have helped them to happen. We recognize each being that walks into our barn as a brother or sister of spirit. We may never have met before, but we will now know each other forever. That is the excitement in welcoming someone new. And it is the same knowledge that allows us to move on when one of us leaves. We know in our hearts that we will forever share their love and energy in our lives and beyond. Today, while we are still sad for our loss of Yoda, we can also rejoice for the arrival of Moose. We can know the sadness of a parting and recognize the chance for a new friendship in the making. It is the circle complete. It is life being lived. And it is hearts being shared. It is what makes me realize how lucky I am to be here in this place and to rejoice once more in the circle of Life.

See you later Yoda! And welcome home Moose!

The Winds of Change

From Amber Donkey:

Today on the farm, we are experiencing another weather system moving through. The wind is lashing at the barn as it stands resolute in its being our home, our energy holding it strong. The trees outside the barn are dancing lightly in the wind, knowing when to bend, when to give, and understanding that change is simply a movement and neither an ending nor beginning. It is winter in this great land we call home. It has been a cold winter and one with lots of snow, and yet, we weather this with the understanding and gratitude that we may feel the energy of the earth moving across her great expanse. The wind that comes today brings with it the energy from far west. The snow forms uniquely from our own water sources, but the wind brings with it a history. It is both old and new combined into one system. It is earth and sky. It is past and future.

In places before us, this same wind brought damage as things broke beneath its force. People died. Animals died. Trees died. Yet, the wind is not the bringer of havoc. It is simply the force of life moving. When that force meets constraints and gets bottled up, or bunched up, the force turns inward, spinning on its own energy, yet still seeking to move forward. All of life, every energy, every force, strives to move forward. Movement is the natural force of life. When energy ceases to move, it no longer lives on the earth plane. Constrained wind force then becomes very powerful on its path. Once it finds its way to move free again, it spreads out in its enormity and weakens in its focus. The more open focused we all can become, the less we will see these bottled up weather patterns emerge with ferocity. Whether they be over land or sea, the effect is still the same. Energy is energy and it will always flow. The conditions for which it moves though can be affected by all of us. As we expand our awareness, and as we encompass the rest of life within our circle, we will see these weather patterns follow suit and spread out as well. The more they spread out, the weaker the force that hits the ground. Violence is always the gift of beauty turned inside out until the force becomes unrecognizable and the effect the polar opposite of its natural expression. It is the same force that turns the gentleness of a breeze into the force of a deadly tornado. Be aware. Your energy affects everything around you.

Talk to the wind and become friends with the force for which the wind travels. Embrace the energy of the life force and that force will comfort your heart. Let the wind move the change you yearn for into or out of your life. We can look at the snow fall and feel great coldness and the still of winter. Or we can look at the flakes for the unique beauty that each one brings as it creates itself anew from a water droplet. We can wrap ourselves in that beauty or we can curse the cold until the warmth of spring. Every season is a breath of the Earth herself. Each breath brings life and a moment for the Earth to take what she needs for nourishment. Curse neither the season nor the gifts each brings. Welcome them and you will reunite your heartbeat with that of the Earth.

This is living life awake and as a participant. It is being a part of the family of the Earth.