At the core of every relationship is communication. People need to be related to be connected.

This relationship can be improved through personal relationship, daily conversations, or

communication through social media. Modern day living teaches us to use these means of
communication to ensure that relationships are not compromised.

Animals do not afford this kind of communication to humans where there is verbal conversation.
Animals cannot speak. Animals are then not able to absolutely express themselves- their subtle
emotions and unapparent reactions. However, it is interesting to see that many people find
affection and emotional needs from a human-animal relationship. Specifically, I am referring to
how people relate to their pets. In fact, many old people escape the loneliness of solitude due to
the presence of their pets.

Evident in many people's lives who live with their pets is the effectiveness of actions over words
in expressing your love and care. But why is this so?

First, I believe protective actions and caring gestures speak more loudly in the heart of humans
than words. When I was little, I had a dog whose name is 'Shamrock.' He was one of the many
dogs that I had. But he was unique because I got too attached with this dog. It was
indescribable how I got this love for him despite the lack of verbal communication between the
both of us; of course, he is a dog. It is my belief that my love draws from a much more profound
reason: his actions. This dog is our house's protector. He always listened to me every time I told
him to be silent. He always remained calm and peaceful every time I patted his back. He was an
obedient dog, and I know that almost all pet dogs in the world have this kind of submissiveness
to their owner. This dog was able to truly touch the center of my heart. Dogs as pets show
subservience to their owners but in a very lovely manner. This kind of inferiority that my dog
showed did not in my case make the emotional distance between my pets and I further. It is a
kind of natural love that owners like me could not resist. Their admission of inferiority as an
expression of love attracts the owner closer to the dog.

Secondly, dogs and other pets never lie. They don't show pretension and gaudy dishonesty like
many of our friends do. If their eyes seem to express sympathy, it would reveal their heart.

Next, the animals' lack of ability to express their mild anger verbally makes us eschew the pain
of hurtful words.

Lastly, these animal pets don't hate us if we hate them. It is easy to love creatures with bigger
understanding and care.

The liveliness of these dogs are seen in their actions. These animals are so full of life. This is
the reason why people adore having pets- the temporary feelings of love that feel infinite.

We as humans tend to overthink about other people's criticisms about us. We always want to fit
to the way we ought to be seen by other people. So we are hurt when people give us harsh or
negative criticisms. How could my friend's behavior to cats teach us a lesson about this?

This is a very simple story, albeit meaningful. It is about my friend Trixie and her unimaginable
disgust to cats. Trixie has been my friend for months. One night, while we were walking at the
campus of UPLB, she was suddenly aghast. As a result, her reaction surprised me too. Not
knowing the reason behind her fear, I was curious. After observing the situation carefully, I
noticed that the presence of a cat scared her. I was a little bit skeptical as to why she had that
unreasonably bizarre reaction in seeing the cat. She then elaborated to me that she innately
hate cats since she was young. She really has this unexplainable fear of cats. She does not
really know the real reason. She just hates cats.

The lesson is that some people will hate or avoid you for no good reason sometimes. Akin to
Trixie's attitude, many people will be disgusted to you even if you think you've treated them with
kindness. And all your questions will be left unanswered at the back of your mind. You simply
don't know what is wrong with you.

I thought all people think of cats as pets or as animals that they could dearly appreciate. The
behavior of my friend contradicts this assumption. The bottomline here that many people would
learn is that even if we think we are being good to others, people would still hate, fear, or
criticize us in an unjust way. You're always going to hear undesirable comments.

Your solution is to act like the cat. When my friend saw the cat, she was immersed in deep
apprehension. But the cat did not care. The cat didn't even know. That's how we should react to
the people's negative criticisms or aversion towards us. Their negativism should be outside our
business.

The creations in this world are so diverse. And this diversity is so beautiful. But the societal
views about human diversity in religion, in color, in traditions, in culture, and in beliefs are
indeed rich but not welcomed by most people. Misunderstanding about this diversity sometimes
causes divisiveness, something that we dislike if we want unity.

Nature has a lot to teach about diversity, most especially animals. Animals are so different from
each other in form, structure, and purposes in this world. There are a lot of differences that
emphasize the diversity. But this melange of various animals in the sky, deep waters and on
land contributes to the aggregate beauty of this diversity. The combination creates not destroys
the world.

On the other hand, human diversity reveals the innate differences. But differences sometimes
cause barriers in this context. It creates walls and chaos among people. It is human selfishness
that destroys the world.
Perhaps the difference between animals and humans is attitude. Animals know no morality. This
is dangerous but escapable. On the other hand, humans know morality but choose to be
immoral.

It's natural beauty to see animals consuming each other, helping each other or hunting each
other because that is the way they are and because they are not created in the image of God.
While in the case of humans, disorder is ugly because we know that beauty in this sense is a
choice. Humans have the choice. But humans always make the wrong choice which is
detrimental.

The diversity of animals and their lowliness to other animals are the reasons why there is order.
Humans must learn from animals. Yes, we are diverse in terms of beliefs and physical
attributes. But we should be modest that sometimes these belief systems and physical aspects
have flaws. In other words, they are not perfect. In this way, we show understanding towards
each other and build the possibility of a communal belief.