(Note: The following is taken from a journal that I keep. It may, or may not, be of interest to DUers.)
There are some advantages to getting up before 4 am, though this morning, when the dogs again started barking at distant noises, I would have preferred to get another hour’s sleep. But it was not to be. So I made my way out to a rocking chair next to the pond, with a cup of coffee and 2 slices of bread.
I use the bread to feed the fish in the pond, and fill the bird feeders, before sitting and drinking the coffee. The sounds of coyotes moving further up the mountain keeps the dogs barking, though soon that ends. Yesterday, the sight of numerous turkey vultures circling above the edge of the open field suggests that the coyotes had killed one of the deer that stay in the pines there every year, raising the season’s fawns.
As the sun begins to rise, the pieces of bread begin to move on that water’s surface, as schools of minnows slowly consume them. It’s too dark to see the minnows, although the light allows me to see the wonderful pattern of tiny ripples on the water. A few trout come up from the deeper water, and jump for both bread and insects, their splashes making the only noise in the morning air, followed by larger ripples on the pond’s surface.
The first birds that I hear are mourning doves, which make their "coo-ah, coo, coo, coo" song as they slowly approach the pond. A pair sits high on a branch, watching me and looking for other potential danger, before coming down for a drink of water, and then feasting on seeds scattered on the ground. Within minutes, there are a half-dozen black-capped chickadees, and I can hear the sound of their wings as they fly near me. I love the songs of the little birds, and before I can finish my coffee, there are a wide range of small and medium-sized birds here, and I’m glad that I got up when I did.
Early man received his education from nature, and the waterside is one of nature’s advanced classrooms. Sitting here this early, I anticipate the mourning lesson.
An orange cat comes through the swamp at the west side of the pond. There is something exciting about watching a cat in natural surroundings – they are beautiful, powerful animals. As a bird on a branch signals to those on the feeders and ground that danger approaches, the birds stop their competition for the seeds and fly to the branches of shrubs and trees. Everything is silent for a moment – almost everything, that is, but the cat focuses its full attention on a noise I’m not able to hear. I suspect that a small rodent is attempting to escape the cat’s attention. In a flash, the cat is gone from my view.
A half-hour of undisturbed feeding for the birds follows. I can see schools of minnows, some with several hundred of the little creatures, slowly pushing the pieces of bread, back and forth, until they disappear. Then, another cat comes from the same path as the first one, and the birds repeat their safety precautions. This gray cat eventually continues on its path east.
Though I tend to be a "dog person," I have respect for cats. My wife and daughters have two indoor cats, and while I much prefer the outdoor variety, those two focus a lot of their attention on me.
In a sense, the differences between outdoor and indoor cats illustrates the concept of "locus of control" that is important in understanding human behavior. An internal locus of control is when a person believes that they are both responsible and able to take actions that help define the quality of their life. An external locus of control is, of course, the opposite: it is when a person believes they lack the power to take control of their own life. They believe that outside forces are responsible for their condition, and that they are little more than a victim of circumstance. The majority of people hold beliefs that blend the internal and external locus of control, and even those with the strongest internal sense recognize that there are circumstances in life that are beyond their control.
Indoor cats, despite their independent nature, become dependent on an outside source for their food. Indoor cats tend to become fat and pampered. The outdoor cat does not look to people for its food: it hunts for it. And attempts to pamper the cats I saw this morning near the pond would not have been welcome.
People with an internal locus of control have what Erich Fromm called a "life-promoting" mind-set. They are creative, and in both good and bad circumstances, look to make the best of things. People with an external locus of control have what Fromm called a "life-denying" mind-set. They are the opposite of creative, and in both good and bad circumstances, look to make others responsible for meeting their needs.
One of the single most important influences on brain development is "stimulation." There is no question that human beings benefit from stimulation from the time they are itty-bitty babies, toddlers, and small children, through the rest of their journey here. When a child’s brain is properly stimulated, they develop an internal locus of control, and are able to play out of doors for hours on end, with an active imagination hat transforms their back yard into life’s playground. When a child is not properly stimulated, they develop an external locus of control, that restricts their creative processes. Rather than playing out of doors, they prefer to sit for hours in front of a screen with bright flashing lights providing their excitement.
Creative human beings appreciate that they are part of the larger process, and are comfortable enough being by themselves, that they also are at ease with others. This includes recognizing the vast array of differences within individuals. There are as many songs as there are types of small birds at the pond’s sides.
Stifled human beings become anxious when they are alone with themselves. They prefer to lose their identity in a crowd of cogs, though they resent people who are different than themselves. They are examples of those who know the lyrics f life’s songs, but not the tunes. They want to throw tea bags into the pond, because vultures such as Sean Hannity and Glen Beck said this is stimulating entertainment.