New Life This December

When I read the news near to the close of 2011, I think how easy it would be to become morose over the state of the world.

The short list includes the economic crisis in Europe, Arab Spring which has become an Arab Year, the death of the Korean dictator, and the fear that life in North Korea will become even harder, the continued suffering from the remains of disasters from tornadoes to nuclear meltdowns, Iran's mounting nuclear threat, and a dysfunctional and paralyzed US Congress. And  when I look out the window at green grass in December instead of snow, I wonder how much distruction from climate change will have to happen before what is happening is taken seriously.

In our personal lives, the two of us have been grieving the deaths of long-term friends, while we watch others we count as friends struggling with much adversity. I am sure that each of you could add to this list, both in terms of the world and in your personal lives.

It is hard to see evidence of new life around me, even with the symbolic meaning of the Advent story. At the same time I have spent decades of my life as an optimist. When the going gets tough, it means I need to look a little harder in unexpected places for evidence of new life.

This year it has been the introduction of kittens into our lives. Our dear cat, Ramon, died this summer of old age. It has been just the two of us in a household accustomed to life with a cat. The day after Thanksgiving, we went to the Humane Society and came home with two kittens. Two little girl babies from the same litter. Seeing life through their eyes, if such a thing is possible, gives me another window to look at the world.

I know I could say that all of their antics are instinctive learning to hunt for survival - even though these two cats will never be allowed outside to roam the neighborhood. But this DNA explanation does not entirely "explain" their behavior  Even though one of them walks with the loping movement of the three big male lions in Kenya, who came marching down the road to watch a female drive her adolescent son out of the pride and into the world to fend for himself. (We watched the action inside the protection of a van with our very alert safari guide).

Our kittens chase each other and their shadows and tails, carry new cat toys around the house, and are entranced by everything new they discover.Their capacity for curiosity, imagination, and play seems unlimited. When they tire of exploring their envionment, they curl up in our laps and purr so loud you can hear them across the room. I don't know the current research on play among animals, but in grad school I knew that the surest way to get a behavioral psychologist to change the subject was to ask what motivates play in animals.

Recent research reported on the capacity of rats to exhibit what only can be called empathy. Cage one rat in a confining cage. Put another rat in a larger space that also contains the poor confined rat. Leave treats out for the "free" rat, who has never met the caged rat before - and who does not gobble the treats down so the caged competition can't eat them. Instead, the free rat upon hearing the cries of the confined rat goes over and figures out how to jiggle the cage so the other rat can get out. and then SHARES some of the treats with the newly freed rat. This series of experiments gives me hope for humanity.

Growing up, I learned a long list of things that made us distinct - and superior - to animals. One by one these qualities have toppled. From the use of tools and language to the capacity to care for one another. And empathy, a quality we have up until  now had assigned to humans, the "superior species."

New kittens with unlimited imaginations, curiosity, and play. Rats with empathy. Let us as humans, find these qualities in us and cultivate them! Now - and not wait to make New Year's resolutions.