Point a gun to a dogs head and she’ll never whimper.
I find that animals are the best meditators, they’re able to sit in rest for hours at a time whilst remaining mindful. They’re great teachers to help us see how busy our minds really are. They stay completely present, navigate aimlessly and predominantly have no anxiety, experiencing nirvana everyday, all the time.
If you have not yet found the empathy within yourself to cease eating products that are from animals that have suffered greatly, then try to watch them. Let them teach you what unconditional love is, how to Meditate and to live presently. Use their purpose in life to add to your own. We are blessed with a planet that can inhabit such an array of life, so many different forms, so many opportunities to learn.
The balance of life allows us to do so, watch the bird fly exerting so much energy for most hours of the day just to feed her chicks, watch the ants social interactions, watch a cat rest and remain able to be aware of any movement that is going on around them. Watch yourself and your inclinations of your mind and your ability to feel an assortment of emotions. Watch everything and see that you are not much different to everything you see. A spent bird, a social ant, a peaceful cat, all of the same characteristics we can adopt and learn from.
Nature is our teacher, and we are part of that nature. Learning by observing is teaching yourself.
Green Dharma 