In the few months that I've lived with the knowledge that Fig has cancer and will probably not live to see another full year, I've thought about his legacy - the impact he has had on my life and the lives of others. He is a genuinely sweet spirit - never malicious nor one to hold a grudge, and yet he is most definitely his own cat, and relates to the world on his own terms. Obsequious he is not. He wants to love and be loved, to give his trust, to take in the world with all his senses. There is time in his day for running and leaping, and always time for a long nap. He lets me know when he needs his space, and when he wants to interact. No guile, just Fig. There is much to admire in his balanced way of being in the world, many good qualities worth emulating.
In the end, I will always think of Fig as the best kind of teacher - one who helps us learn by modeling, by being his own best self. In that rarefied light, how we can do other than see our own best selves and strive to hold on to that image?
In the past year, I've watched Fig make a true friend out of someone who never had a pet in his life, and who was generally uncomfortable around animals. Along the way this friend has discovered new depths of gentleness, tenderness, and patience, and has experienced his ability to love and communicate with an animal. What a wonderful legacy!
Even more wonderful is the ripple effect of positive experiences. That same friend has reached out to someone from his childhood, and as a result, a child on the other side of the world will be able to have an education. I think about the trajectory that child's life will have now, the choices that will be open to him, and how he will be able to care for his parents in their old age. One action, one contact, can have a tremendous impact on not just one person, but the people in that person's life also. It is at once humbling, sobering, and exhilarating.
Of course, I cannot attribute my friend's action to his relationship with Fig. But there is no need to completely discount it, either. Just like a flower blooming through the tiniest crack in a concrete wall, good will find the light of day, and we never know what path it may take.
As I reflect further, I realize that I have had the benefit of knowing Fig for over a decade, and I must ask myself how open to learning have I been during those years? So many people and animals have touched my life for the better that I feel a deep need to pass along what I have gained. What will be my legacy?
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