The Sleeping Fennec Fox

 In Fauna

I specifically went to photograph and see the fennec foxes for the first time during my recent Japan trip. Since my schedule is tight, I couldn’t stay with them as much as I wanted to. As they are nocturnal animals, they were all sleeping while I was there during the day. How I wished at least one would wake up and play, sadly this was the best shot that I could manage under those circumstances.

Even when they are sleeping, they cannot contain that bundle of cuteness in them. It reminds me of my own child when he is sleeping. Children have two very different kind of cuteness whether they are sleeping or awake. One is the expressive type of cuteness and the other type is that of peacefulness. The common thread among the two types of cuteness is that they make you feel something, even though no words are being said.

In the world today, everyone is trying to say something. This makes me wonder about the real value of words. Words are funny things. In itself, there really is no value. When uttered, they are just sounds. Any living creatures can make some sort of sound and if you don’t understand their language, it really means nothing.

A child can make you understand so much without saying a single word. The way they make you understand is through their body language, their actions. As we learn and accumulate more and more words, there comes a time when it is so easy to just say something without meaning it. It is so easy to make a sound and not do anything. Doing is hard. It is so much easier to talk about dreams, ambitions, purpose and just about anything under the sun.

People go around talking and nothing is changed. The only thing that changed is that we believe in those words. The people who gets ahead are the ones that can talk well, talk a lot and goes on talking. Those that don’t talk are easily forgotten. Those that fulfill the everyday task of making the world a better place, they don’t go up on stage to talk about what they do. They just do.

The people who pave your roads. They that clear your trash and clean your toilets. Those that cook your meals. The ones that feed your children. Inventors that changes the lives of others. These silent everyday heroes. They don’t talk much because they are too busy doing, serving.

A good friend doesn’t need to say anything. He or she understands that sometimes all we need is just a shoulder.

Words are funny things. We place so much value on something that has so little value. Blind in seeing the actions behind those words, we fail to see where the true value is. We have chosen to believe in words, if not words won’t hurt us so bad. Sometimes the spoken words are more deadly than a weapon because of the emphasis we placed on them. Then again, there is no need to believe in words if you know. There is only a need to believe if you don’t know.

Imagine how the world would be like if we see what others are doing instead of simply hearing the words. A lot of problems happen in the world because we start to believe in words and speeches blindly. Anybody can say anything, they just need to make it sound real. It is like the futility of questioning. When you question, you hope to get an answer. From that answer it spews a thousand and one question again. It never ends. Truth ends everything, because the truth is happening and ending in each moment. There is no need for questioning.

Words are tools. It is convenient for communication. There is no need to be so serious about them because in some ways we are always misunderstanding each other. The deed, the action though is what counts. This quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson sums it up beautifully, “Your actions speak so loudly, I can not hear what you are saying.”

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