We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate for having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein do we err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with the extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings: they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.

— Henry Beston, “The Outermost House”

💜

We’re thrilled to partner this month with @opbarks for Singing Our Grief.

The loss of our animal companions is like no other loss. The grief we feel when they’re no longer a part of our everyday is one that’s often misunderstood and minimized by those who haven’t loved and been loved in this way.

Join us on Friday, September 19, as we make space to honor these family members who have died or are ailing.

Whether you’re grieving the loss of a pet or not, all are welcome, as are all griefs.

🎶 Singing Our Grief
🗓️7 to 8:30 pm Friday, Sept. 19
📍Opportunity Barks, 3510 Scotts Lane, Suite 3112, Philadelphia
💲Donation: $10-$30 (no one turned away for lack of funds)