Do you have the ‘gene’

The love of animals.

A friend of mine speaks of the soul-deep, hard-wired love of animals in terms of genetics. “He’s got the gene.” Or, “She doesn’t have the gene.”

I have the gene (although I reckon there’s no actual gene, but such thinking helps explain the otherwise inexplicable passion for a full range of critters.

People who like animals, are kindly toward them, but can take them or leave them? They don’t have the gene.

Awareness of my “gene” started a long time ago.

When I was a child, I nearly wore the cover off of an over-sized book titled, “Who’s Who in the Zoo,” with a drawing of a chimpanzee gymnastically draped from the black lettering of the title. All of this on an orange-colored hard cover.

I now have custody of this book again, acquired from a private book seller. It’s like finding an old friend of whom you’ve lost track. I shall not let this old friend get away from me again!

For my podcast today (link below) I read the Introduction of a relatively new animal book that almost certainly will occupy prominent space in my home. 

“An Immense World,” written by Ed Yong, is available in regular, adult, edition, and also in a Young Readers Edition. It is the latter from which I read, for several reasons. A larger font size, plus there is more space between lines that increases readability. Colorful illustrations and highlighted glossary terms add to the fun feel of this book. But make no mistake, there’s plenty of serious and fascinating science to hold your attention.

In closing, I offer the following poem, author unknown:

The Quiet Love of Animals 

They come to us softly,
on padded paws or beating wings—
no fanfare, no need for explanations.
They look at us
with the kind of knowing that asks for nothing
but the truth of who we are.
A dog’s tail writes joy in the air,
a cat folds itself
into the warm parentheses of our arms,
a horse leans its whole weight
against our loneliness
just to steady us.

Birdsong spills into morning
like a promise,
and even the shy wild ones—
the deer at the treeline,
the fox with the lantern eyes—
remind us that the world
 still believes in gentleness.

To love an animal
is to learn a quieter language,
to speak in kindness,
to listen with hands and heart.
And in their presence
we remember:

We are not alone here.
The earth is shared,
alive,
  breathing,
  and full of love
 far older and wiser
than our own.

Podcast link: An Immense World