From Lorinda:  “People sometimes mistakingly think that I have trouble getting around. That is a misperception just because I get around differently than most other cats. But for me, my normal is just fine. This is who I am. Life is actually very good for me. For a while in my life, I lived out on the streets. That was not much fun. I’m just not the type to have to fend off more senior cats to get my share of the food. I didn’t like that part of my life. But what I have found now is really a life that suits me well. I never take for granted a bowl of food or a loving touch. I love to share my gratitude and joy with others as well. Even the smallest act of kindness is cherished. I think the more kindness we can share, the more we all benefit. Let’s all focus on being kind today… and every day!”

From Ginny: “I answer this question each year and am always grateful to be asked. But this year, I have even more reason to be grateful. I am literally grateful to be alive. You see, earlier this year I had a bad thing happen in my intestines and I almost died. I had to go to a big clinic and have a very large surgery. It was really scary but everyone took good care of me. Here I am now, all back to normal again. Although things feel good again, I actually will never be back to how I was. Because although I was always happy and grateful to be here, when I suddenly saw how close I came to not being here anymore, it made coming home even more special. I savor every day here at this farm. I love it all. So I can honestly say, thanks to many humans who made it all possible, that I am alive today because of all the help I received. I am eternally grateful!”

From Cumin:  “I may seem little but being a guinea pig is a big job. We have a lot of wisdom to share with the world. Often, we are around children and that gives us an opportunity to impart the seeds of kindness and compassion and joy into their lives. It is hard to be sad around a guinea pig who is exuding joy and happiness. We are built for that! Besides all of that, I am equally grateful for good morsels of food. Food tastes so good! And I love tasting a variety of foods. Life is full of good things. But we need to take the time to stop and recognize that.”

From Flannigan:  “Life for me is all about appreciation. It’s so important to focus on the things you have in life than for the things you don’t have. Now you may think that makes sense coming from a one-eyed-cat and that some human put those words to this. But I assure you this is me. If I am missing one eye, then I need to trust what I see from the one eye I have. And it is up to me to then be sure I see things as they are. Now, I can look at life from and angle of thinking I’m only seeing half of what I should see. Or, I can choose to understand that my remaining eye is seeing twice as much. You see, I am blessed. And I choose to look at all the good things in life with the one eye I have. That is what I am most grateful to experience.”

From Xander: “I am most grateful for times of peace and quiet. All of my animal friends here in the barn are deeply connected to one another. We form a circle of energy that we are very aware of at all times. And we know how to use this circle of energy. It is the combined energy of our hearts. When we combine them all together, it is a huge force. It is a force that can be welcoming and embracing like when we have visitors who come in looking to find something in their own hearts. We circle around them and hold them close. They always leave here finding something that they need. It is our gift to them. And we can also use that circle to keep negativity out of our space. We do not have time for anger and judgment and therefore we do not give that any space within our circle. We look out for one another. I am grateful to share that energy with all who wish to enter our circle with an open heart and curious mind.”

Animal Message of the Day

From Lucy Goose:  “It is a supreme honor to be a goose. Being a goose brings with it a lot of trust and responsibility. We are entrusted with keeping order and being vigilant of our surroundings. People have said I am a protector of the farm. But it is way more than that. You see, I am an energy holder. I am aware of the deepest energy of this farm. In return for paying homage to the origin of the energy of this pace, the farm energy in turn nurtures me. Being a goose is a privilege that I am grateful for every single day. What an opportunity! What a great experience! I have learned so much. I am grateful for every second of every single day. I wish that each of you hearing my words can be grateful for your life too. I am grateful to each of you.”

From Freddie: “I am grateful to have been given another chance at life. People gave up on me a long time ago when I couldn’t fulfill their dreams. I wasn’t fast enough. I wasn’t tough enough. But I can tell you I tried. No matter what I did it wasn’t good enough. They sent me to an auction where there were a lot of scared animals. I was scared too. By now I thought my fate was sealed. But then someone bought me again and took me to a big field with other animals. And then they didn’t come back. I had never just been left like this before. I wasn’t doing well. I thought I was going to die. I gave up. What did I do so wrong that got me here. I couldn’t figure it out. But like a miracle, I was suddenly taken out of that place and brought here. You know what the best part is? I don’t have to do anything to be loved. I don’t have to be fast or athletic or bend in ways I can’t bend. I just need to be me. This is like a dream. But this time instead of living for someone else’s dream of what I should be, I am finding my own dream. I keep thinking I’ll need to leave but the other horses and donkeys tell me I get to stay here now forever. This is what I’ve always wanted. I can’t believe I found it. Believe in your dreams. No matter what it might look like now, it can change in ways you cannot imagine.”

From Jessie: “Hi everyone! I’m Jessie and Dawn is my person. She has been talking to a lot of animals around here and getting lots of messages from them to share with you. I hope you don’t miss any of the messages to come. All of the animals at the farm are excited to share our thoughts and feelings about what we are grateful for in life. I can tell you that I am grateful to be a part of all of this. I am most grateful for my family. To be loved is like being surrounded by sunshine even when it rains. Last year at this time I was very sad as I had lost my two last dog companions in the months before. I was so sad to be alone. But since then, we adopted two other dogs that really needed homes. I told my Mom to post a picture of the three of us. Because I am most grateful to have them with me. I am the yellow lab. Maya is the black dog. And Charlie is the brown one. Don’t tell them I said so, but they are what I am most grateful for this year. But I think they know that anyway.”