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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Jonathan Romain

Good morning

鈥淗ow鈥檚 your new house?鈥� I said to a member of my synagogue who鈥檇 recently moved home. 鈥淥h, it鈥檚 lovely鈥�, she replied, 鈥漷he only problem is I don鈥檛 know anybody and it鈥檚 so hard to meet people鈥�

It鈥檚 not just her. It鈥檚 difficult settling into a new neighbourhood, or if you鈥檝e worked for years, never had time for local life, but now retire. The reality is that, with a few exceptions, most people won鈥檛 come knocking on your door to say hello and the only way to get to meet others is by getting stuck into some activity 鈥� it doesn鈥檛 matter what 鈥� it could be book reading circle, rambling group, church, charity, voluntary group....whatever...and that way, become part of what鈥檚 going on in the area.

Still, while all that鈥檚 true, that鈥檚 not what I told her 鈥� No, instead I offered another solution: get a dog, and she would quickly find that people would stop to talk to the dog, slowly let their gaze run up the lead and eventually talk to her as well. Even better, the dog would come home with her, and having a dog (or cat) can transform one鈥檚 life. It means there鈥檚 always someone to greet you when you come in, someone to talk to, say goodnight to and the house doesn鈥檛 feel empty. And of course the great things about pets is that they always listen patiently and never contradict what you鈥檇 just said!

As for just sitting down and giving your pet a stoke, there are so many studies that say how therapeutic it is and how it can lessen tension and stress...not to mention the exercise you get from walking them

So whether you see a pet as a sort of introduction agency, or a domestic friend, or great antidote to a day at work, it鈥檚 no wonder that people talk about their pets as being a member of the family, and sometimes even better, as they don鈥檛 sulk or answer back!

So I thank God for the companionship we can find either in local people or in pets who can help us enjoy the world around us so much more.

Amen

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