What my favorite animals taught me

Anastasia Rondareva, editor-in-chief of Where Moscow magazine, and her horse Grayson

“I am not a sentimental person, I am not inclined to humanize animals, although I love them very much. But, on reflection, I realized that I had changed thanks to my horses. I started horseback riding at the age of 31. It was a sporting interest, then I was focused on achievements. And if you want to improve yourself, then sooner or later the question of your own horse arises. And my friend and I bought a horse. At first he disappointed me. As it turned out later, he had a difficult past, he was very closed, did not lie down with me, did not take goodies. It was very embarrassing. But then he began to slowly thaw, open up and turned out to be an incredibly sincere horse. Once I fell off it and got seriously injured. There was fear, I was going to finish with horseback riding. I even went to a psychotherapist. And I realized that I did not trust my horses at all. I am a hyper-responsible person, if something needs to be done well, I will do it myself. With horses, work goes through trust, respect for the personality of the horse. They are very sensitive and grateful, incredibly resonate with you. I realized that Grayson and I were in resonance from the very beginning: he did not trust me, I did not trust him, and this is what led to both the fall and the fact that we almost broke up. Now I finally relaxed and enjoy our communication. My perception of achievement has also changed. Now this is not only a successful workout, but also an opportunity to spend time without doing it. The more we communicate, the stronger the resonance between us. Confidence has appeared in me, and I don’t even know where I could have learned it if it weren’t for the horse.”

Evgeny Osin, psychologist, and his cats Catharsis, Euphoria and Ziggy

“Cats quickly get used to any space: a cat is able to “fit” into a box of any shape, fall asleep sweetly in the washbasin or in the kitchen, hugging a warm kettle. They do not seek to transform the world, accept it as it is, and are ready to create comfort in the circumstances offered. This ability can be learned from them. If the cat were a person, one could say that he is tactful, but knows how to be persistent in what is important to him.

Each of my cats has two names. Catharsis (for friends – Misha) – the most shy, but demanding and wayward. He taught the rest that my knees are his territory. Euphoria-Masha is independent and modest. Their son, Ziggy (aka Fluffy), with multi-colored eyes like David Bowie, is an explorer, willing to meet new people and remain calm in any circumstances. In the evening, all three meet me at the door and remind me that there are things in life no less important than work. Cats are happy to meet and enjoy simple things. “Life is not a result, but a process,” they say with all their looks, “so, for starters, pet us!”

Ksenia Kolosova, co-owner of the Cunning People cafe-bar, and her dog Ronya

“Ronya taught me to love animals. More precisely, he taught me to love dogs, and through them all the others became dear to me. It so happened that in my childhood and later I didn’t have animals, and in general, the animal world did not evoke emotions. But then a puppy, picked up by a friend on the street, appeared in my life, and the degree of affection that arose between us became a real discovery for me.

In relations with people, we look for compromises, quarrel, part, but you can’t discuss anything with an animal, and the ball is always on the side of the owner. While raising Ronya, I realized how important it is to be flexible, to be able to abandon habitual patterns of behavior, to learn to understand the language of another being. No one has forced me to read as much literature on psychology as my own dog.

Thanks to Ron, I learned to pay more attention to my emotions. Ronya is extremely sensitive to my mood and emotional state. As soon as I go for a walk, for example, in annoyance or tension, I see this mood reflected in the behavior of my dog. I had to learn to be aware of my emotions, to change in real time. It is also important for the dog to feel that the owner is confident in what he is doing and is absolutely calm. It’s difficult, I’m just learning, but it seems that there are successes.

In one documentary there is a phrase: “The main thing my dog ​​taught me is that when a loved one enters the room, you should go crazy with joy.” I think it would save a lot of our relationships with other people.”