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.”

From Piper:  “If you ever meet me in person you will notice one very big thing about me. I never let anything get me down. I was born without eyes, yet I see more profoundly than most others. My world is rich with sounds and smells and sensitivities to everything. I can play with toys. I can run to the top of the cat trees with great agility and accuracy. Nothing can stop me. You might think I’m limited because I can’t see. But it has never once limited me at all. But that kind of thinking limits whoever is thinking it. Please don’t put your limitations on me. I’m free without them. And you’d be free without them too!”

 

 

 

From Nell:  “I only have one eye. I am grateful to still have vision in that one eye. However, it is likely that I will eventually go blind. I don’t live my life in fear of what I will no longer be able to see. Instead, I try to take stock in watching everything I can with this one eye and pairing it up with sounds and smells so that I can always remember what this is like. Yesterday, I watched leaves rolling through my pasture in the wind. I could smell them. I could hear them. And I realized it was a joy to watch them and not take them for granted. Each moment in our lives is a gift to be grateful for. No matter if it is big or small, nothing is inconsequential to the whole of life. Nothing. Remember that so that you never forget that.”

 

 

 

 

From Clark: “The thing I really like to do is to make people laugh. Being a goat is a blast. Our bodies are made just right. It gives me great joy to be a goat because it is the way I can be the best me that I can be. I feel I live a life of purpose. I love playing. I love being funny. And I can also be quite serious too. But right now, there is way too much seriousness going on. Maybe the world needs more goats. Or maybe people need to listen to goats more. I’m grateful for every single day I get to be me.”

 

 

 

From Noah: “I am most grateful to share friendships with such a variety of wonderful beings. I have donkey friends and horse friends and human friends. Each of them are so unique. No two of them are alike. I love meeting visitors as well. What I have learned is that when I approach them with kindness, then they open up and share their kindness with me. I love that! Every day is an opportunity to learn something new and to be kind. Let’s see what you can do with your opportunities today!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Varunie:  “I love life. Life is by itself enough reason to be grateful. But I also love my friends. I prefer doing my own thing most of the time. But I am a part of the bigger world around me by watching and participating in my very own way. From my porch, I see so much of what goes on at the farm. I see more than my human friends really understand. I see and feel the energy of this place. And I ground myself in that. There is peace. There is kindness. There is love. Yet, many of the humans I see just walk right past it and never notice. The funny thing is that they are looking for those very things in their lives. They are looking for peace. Looking for kindness. Looking for love. You humans are not very observant if I may say so. You can be standing right within the very thing you are yearning for and you do not see it. Instead you keep telling yourselves that it is not there. You are missing it. You don’t deserve it. It will never happen. You just need to let it happen! I try screaming that over and over again. Just let yourself be ok! You are ok! I’m grateful to know this truth.”

 

From Molly:  “Don’t be fooled by the fact I no longer have eyes. Do not for a second think I live in darkness. My life is full of light. In fact, I see more than when I had my eyesight. Before I had sight. But now I have vision. I feel more deeply. I smell things more clearly. And I can sense a heavy heart a mile away. If you come stand with me filled with pity, you will not find me to be too forthcoming to share with you. But if you come to me with curiosity of who I am, I will share with you all you want to know. Because I may not have eyes, but I can see you for who you are. Can you?”

 

 

 

From Romeo:  “Being a rabbit is in itself enough to be grateful for. To be able to smell things so exquisitely and to have a body that can leap for joy at the smell of a good carrot is simply amazing. To have ears that can hear the tiniest of movements around me and the ability to run fast if I have to brings me great comfort. Being handsome of course also has its benefits. I am grateful for the opportunity life has given me to live my life to the fullest as a rabbit. Life is good. Life is precious.”

 

 

 

 

 

From Libby: “This may sound funny coming from a donkey but I am grateful for quiet times. People sometimes move too fast. They are always in a hurry. Even when they come up to feed us in the morning, they are focused on what they have to do next and not what they are doing now. Everyone runs from here to there. Or zooms around in motorized things. I appreciate when someone comes to see me who doesn’t mind just standing still without any idea of what we will do. Let’s just be in the moment. That would be something wouldn’t it? Yep, I’m grateful for the silent shared moments. And I’m always open for more.”

 

 

 

 

From Misty Mew:  “One of my favorite things to do is to get to know people. I like to try to help people understand that they are important. Some people don’t even recognize that I am here. And then there are others who have become my friends. I don’t think humans are very trusting. There was a time that I didn’t trust too well either. Not everyone was kind to me. But then I ended up here where I find kindness every day. I am grateful to know that trust and friendship exist and that I can be the friend that somebody needs. It is a really great feeling. I am grateful to people who like to stop and share with me.”

 

 

 

 

From Charlie:  “I have so many things that I love and am grateful for. Sometimes my life is limited when I cannot go out and eat all the grass that I smell and see outside my paddock. I have problems with my feet that get very painful if I eat grass. While that is frustrating at times, I still am grateful to go outside in the sun and fresh air. I love smelling the air. The wind will tell you about things to come if you listen. I love the smell after it rains and everything is nourished by the water. And I love the sound of my human friends coming to feed us. I can always tell when they are about to walk in and I love to celebrate their arrival. There is so much in a day that seems little but is actually huge at providing joy. I hope you are grateful for the little things in your day as well.”

 

 

From Eloise:  “As a pig, I am lucky to have the life that I do, and I am acutely aware of that fact. I am grateful for the freedom to be me. I am grateful for the opportunity to live out my life the way I am wanting to. I am grateful to lie in the mud and feel the warm sun on my back. I am grateful for all the food that is brought to me every day. I am grateful for people who love me for being me and who take the time to get to know me. I am also grateful to have been able to have my children here and know they are safe. But most importantly, I am grateful to be loved.”

 

 

 

From Mabel: “Seriously, when you get to be my age, you are just grateful for every breath you take. But aside from that, I think it’s funny that you ask us this question every year. What it indicates to me is that humans forget to take stock of what they are grateful for in their lives. And that explains a lot to me. So many humans come to visit here with so much heaviness in their hearts. Their minds are dulled. Their hearts are aching. They carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Donkeys are used to carrying heavy loads all the time. But nothing compares to the load of stress that you humans put on yourselves. So…. I suggest you start where I did when you asked me this question. If you are not sure of what you have to be grateful for in your life, then be grateful for each and every breath you take. Because I am grateful that you are breathing!”

 

 

From Sylvester:  “Life is just amazing! All of it! I’ve seen a lot of things. I’ve been lost. I’ve been found. I’ve been sick. I’ve been healthy. I’ve been stupid. I’ve been smart. And…. I also know that I’ve been lucky. When I was most down and out, someone brought me here to safety. And what I never saw coming was how much I would fall in love with my new world. I am the happiest ever in my life. I never would have dreamed this could happen. My favorite thing in the world to do is just to hang out and be loved. And I get a lot of that around here! Never give up hope. Never. I am grateful for love. And I will never let go of that.”

 

 

From Lucy Goose:  “I am grateful for being old. If you think that sounds strange, then I’d like to tell you that the alternative to that is pretty grim. I’ve learned a lot in my life. I’ve done a lot of things. And I’d like to think I’m a lot wiser than the little cute gosling that hatched over two decades ago. The world looks sweeter to me. I appreciate things more deeply. And I am grateful for it all. I watch these younger beings around me that think they know a lot. But they have forgotten that learning never stops. And if it does, you are not going to be in such a brilliant place. But this old goose isn’t fooled by youthful exuberance. I once was over confident too. I once thought I was owed a lot. But the truth is that this old goose understands that you are only self-made. And if you don’t pay attention to learning and bettering yourself, there isn’t anyone else who can do it for you. I am a grateful goose.”