Tessie; The Animal Lover and Pastor; The Brazilian Rainbow Boa

One great lecture at: http://tastethewind.blogspot.com/2010/12/major-problems-for-mankind.html

52 Stories in 52 Weeks: ## 46

Tessie; * The Animal Lover and Pastor; The Brazilian Rainbow Boa. (A True Story)

By: Mr. George D. Patnoe., Jr.,'s Ambidextrous Brain + Spiritual Mind.

Tessie has been an animal lover for many years, long before she met Pastor, her unusual pet buddy. Long before Tessie met Pastor, she lived on her parents 300 acre ranch. Her parents were financially successful because Tessie’s mom worked as a doctor in a hospital and Tessie’s dad made money too. That meant they could obtain many immaterial financial rewards with their money. Tessie had learned her love for animals from her mother the human doctor, who respected all life.

But Tessie’s mom had a deep compassion for all animals, especially when she saw their suffering after the animals had endured torture by humans for medical testing and related purposes. Tessie’s mom quickly realized that all of the suffering animals needed a home after they were no longer needed for medical testing and other related purposes, so she created an animal retirement refugee ranch for the medically tested animals. The ranch was already home to many kinds of animals, so it was no trouble to enlarge their animal ranch to reward the medically tested animals with a peaceful retirement under the light blue skies of earth. One day, Tessie was on the ranch when her mother arrived home with a big surprise.

For some unknown reason, a fully grown zebra was being loaded off a truck, to enjoy its new life at the animal ranch. The zebra was angry at the humans who used it for medical experimentation, but nevertheless Tessie’s mom wanted to do another humane act of giving the angry zebra a quiet and peaceful home for its remaining years under the light blue skies of earth.

Tessie could see the joy on her mom’s face as the zebra started its walk off of the truck onto the animal ranch, which enabled Tessie to catch the spirit of kindness and respect for all animal life, no matter what color or shape or sounds they would make. Tessie herself knew that her mom had seen enough human and animal suffering to cause her to devote part of the large ranch as a refugee ranch for the misused and abused animals. Tessie was only a child when she saw her parents show the priceless compassion to the abused and misused animals, so she had learned early on to respect all animal life, along with helping all needy creatures who needed a human hand to help it survive on planet earth.

After many years of collecting animals, the animal ranch became a refugee ranch for a large amount of animals for so many reasons. Tessie could walk out any door to her house to encounter animals from around the world. Horses, raccoons, dogs and cats, zebras, monkeys, and so many more; but in short, it was a homegrown zoo. Tessie grew up without of television’s current wave of blood and violent television shows, with their gory and bloody lifeless human bodies on the nightly television screen. Instead, she was living a dream of many little girls, to have her own personal zoo in her backyard. She learned how to take care of many of the animals, and eventually she went to college for a degree in zoology. Maybe the most famous zoologist of our modern times is Charles Darwin and his theories about animal classifications and his theories about animal evolution.

As Tessie sat in her college classes, she had learned more technical information about all of the different kinds of animals, but she missed her parent’s zoo ranch, as she remembered the simplicity of feeding, petting, and enjoying their presence. She would also remembered the ranch workers and animals helpers who would care and protect the animals; even if they never took a class in zoology. Tessie too, would care for the animals without all of the detailed history of each specific animal, like what country it lived in before it arrived to America. Tessie had grown up with more animals than most children could ever dream of, so she knew she had been a lucky little girl.

Tessie also remembered how she loved all animals; no matter how small or how big, no matter what color or shape, no matter what they ate, or what kind of noises they uttered. As she remembered walking around her parents animals refugee ranch, she would remember watching each creature to learn how it related to the people world, even after their abuse and misuse by humans. Tessie slowly began to realize many things about all creatures on planet earth. They all wanted love from humans, even if they could not describe love as a word or even as an emotion. They did not want to be tortured by humans for the human’s medical purposes.

Tessie had also learned never to judge an animal in any regard whatsoever; never to judge an animal with her human’s limited conceptions about what an animal should be or what it should do; so that she would never damage her relationship with any earthly creature. Even though some creatures had four legs to walk over on the earth, while other creatures had no legs to walk with, so they had to crawl over the earth, or fly above in the skies. Tessie had also realized that all of the abused and misused animals were not only changed by the human’s abuse and misuse, but they also remembered the pain that was inflicted upon them. In a real sense, Tessie own human soul had long ago began to learn something about compassion for all of earth’s creatures.

After Tessie had obtained her zoology degree, her eye had caught the sight of some baby Brazilian Rainbow Boas, (snakes). The baby boas are between fifteen to twenty inches long after they crack through their eggshells; and they can grow as long as 36-48 inches. They are reddish brown with curvy black stripes that start at their head and end at their tail. Of course Tessie did not care about the length of her new pet or how long it would live for, she just knew that she loved the hidden rainbow colors that shone whenever the light was just perfect.

Tessie named her new pet Brazilian Rainbow Boa Pastor. Pastor seemed to be a good name for a snake that seemed to reflect the colors of the rainbow. Almost like reflecting the hidden colors of God. A seemingly strange name for a seemingly strange pet. After all, who would want a snake for a pet? But Tessie had learned that every earth creature might be able to teach her something. And not only that, every earth creature should know something about human kindness instead of human barbarism. In the beginning of Pastor’s life, she had the best of a normal life. She ate a snack once or twice a week. She rested in her glass cage, to enjoy the warmth of the sunlight through the window or to enjoy the long moments of peace and tranquillity and serenity of a normal pet snake.

Pastor learned very quickly the smells and sent of her human owner Tessie, so she recognized Tessie’s hand every time she reached into the glass cage to pull Pastor out of the glass cage. Pastor the boa would slide and slither her scaly body over Tessie’s soft warm arms and around her neck; all the while Tessie would help guide it in one direction or another, just to keep Pastor’s rhythm going. People would watch Tessie and Pastor’s unusual friendship as they wondered why a human being would enjoy the company of a snake, and why a snake would enjoy the company of a human being. But that was ok with both Tessie and Pastor; because they were buddies.

Many such strange friendships can not be explained, so why try to explain such friendships between a human and a reptile to boring and uncompassionate people. When Pastor grew larger, Tessie started taking Pastor to field trips around town, to the parks and lakes, and even to work. In one sense, they became closer pals, as funny and strange as that might sound. But Tessie guessed that Pastor enjoyed seeing the sights, but especially the scents and smells of the parks and the lakes; with the people and other animals. They would roam around the parks and lakes until Pastor became tired. Then it was back to the glass cage where Pastor could enjoy the slow pace of being a lazy snake. Pastor had learned to trust Tessie to know what and when to do whatever was necessary for their survive. Trust is important in a dangerous world. Both Tessie and Pastor knew that!

That trust would one day become an asset to Pastor because she was about to change from a seeing Brazilian Rainbow Boa to a blind Brazilian Rainbow Boa. Only three years old, in snake years, and Pastor the snake could no longer see the world. Tessie knew she had a decision to make; either let Pastor sleep in snake heaven, or to keep Pastor alive as a blind Boa. Many of Tessie’s friends advised her to send Pastor to snake heaven, but most of those people did not own snakes or reptiles of any kind; and Tessie knew they would not understand her decision. Tessie’s human conscience could not bring herself to kill a earth creature just because it could not see the world anymore. Somehow, Tessie guessed that there must be more to the world than seeing it. Tessie decided to let Pastor live as a blind snake.

Tessie started to care for Pastor even more than when she could see the surrounding world. There was still Pastor’s feeding once a week, with Pastor’s favorite food, even if Tessie’s had to open Pastor’s mouth to shove the food into its mouth. After all, how would a blind snake know what it was eating if it could not see the food item? Soon enough, Pastor increasingly trusted Tessie with the unseen food, even if Tessie still had to pry open Pastor’s mouth and shove the snake food into Pastor’s mouth.

Just to make life a bit more comfortable for Pastor, and also less boring too, Tessie still brought Pastor to the lakes, and parks, and even to work by way of car. Tessie guessed that Pastor might be able to experience many of the snake’s other senses just as it had experienced as a seeing snake, but maybe more so. Tessie wanted to show as much love as possible to the blind Pastor.

Tessie never stated to Pastor, ‘I love you, you Brazilian Rainbow Boa.’ because she did not have to speak words to an earth creature who could not understand the English language or any wordy language for that matter. But Pastor understood anyway. The language of silence can sometimes be more powerful than the any human language because of the old saying, ‘Action speaks louder than words.’ That old phrase may sometimes be debatable, but when that phrase is applied between a human being who can speak words and also see the surrounding world, and a reptile who can not see the surrounding world, nor speak any language, actions surely speak louder than words.

So this is a different kind of story, but one that happens everyday between seeing humans and blind humans. A blind person sometimes needs the help of a seeing person, but they learn to survive without the help of seeing humans. No one would kill a blind person, so why would Tessie simple kill her blind pet boa? Maybe that is the point of this story? Or is it?

One day, when Tessie was walking around Angel Lake and its park, Pastor was slithering around her body as if Tessie was a living tree; with soft and warm skin instead of coarse and hard tree bark. Pastor had experienced a few hard tree barks, along with Tessie’s soft and warm skin. Tessie was walking around the lake with Pastor wrapping itself around her neck and arms, with Pastor’s smelling the sights. What could the non-seeing Pastor be feeling? Surely it was feeling trust. You can bet Pastor was feeling Tessie’s unusual love as Pastor was also smelling every possible scent at the lake.

As Tessie walked across a small wooden bridge, a mountain biker was peddling across the small wooden bridge, only to spot the unexpected surprise of seeing a snake wrapping around a young lady’s arms and neck. The mountain biker almost came to a squealing halt when his eyes glanced at the lady with the snake around her neck and arms, as they almost bumped into the mountain biker. As the mountain biker and the Tessie’s eyes met, at the bridge’s entrance, the mountain biker started a conversation with the snake lady with the words, ‘Is that a snake around your neck, or is that a stupid question?’ It was supposed to be a joke, but the lady did not laugh.

The snake lady responded with, ‘That is a stupid question.’ with a slight chuckle. ‘I have been walking all around this lake and no one has said a word to me. You are the first person to talk to me about Pastor.’

‘What kind of snake is it?’ asked the biker.

‘It is a Brazilian Rainbow Boa.’ answered Tessie.

The mountain biker looked carefully at the Brazilian Rainbow Boa, at its reddish brown snake skin and its black wavy stripes. It sure looks different.’ said the biker.

‘It is considered to be one of the prettiest snakes in the world.’ stated Tessie.

‘Why is that?’ asked the mountain biker.

‘Just watch it move.’ responded Tessie.

As the snake moved around Tessie’s arm, the biker suddenly noticed the changing colors just as if it was a moving rainbow with hidden colors. The hidden colors became apparent with each movement of the Pastor’s body. When the Brazilian Rainbow Boa stood still, the biker could only see its colorful stripes. But when Pastor began to move again, every slight movement of Pastor’s snake body caused all of its hidden colors to shine in the sunlight. The biker was amazed that a snake could reflect so many hidden colors. Immediately, the biker realized that if a person was looking at a picture of a Brazilian Rainbow Boa snake, they would not see all of the changing colors because the snake would not be moving in the picture to reveal its hidden colors.

The mountain biker starred at the snake as his mind began twirling around with questions. Tessie had introduced herself and Pastor as she repeated her story just as she had done hundreds of times before. Once the mountain biker heard the story, he began wondering about how a blind snake lives its life without seeing anything whatsoever. Many metaphysical questions slowly began to creep into the mountain biker’s metaphysical method of thinking and reasoning, as he began to compare the blind snake with blind people. Of course, blind people can still listen to music or the television or talk on the phone or use their fingers to read braille with their fingers, but a snake could never do those human activities, so what could it be missing.

Maybe not much, except the love of its human owner, which of course it still possessed because it was still alive.

The metaphysical mountain biker asked himself why would a human would keep a snake who could not see her anymore. Would the snake even remember what Tessie or the world looked like? But these questions were answered when the metaphysical mountain biker realized that Tessie truly loved Pastor, even if no other human on the planet could understand how a human could love a snake or how a snake could love a human. And the metaphysical mountain biker also realized that Pastor also loved Tessie; how could it be otherwise?

A blind snake could never read by braille, but it can still feel its owner’s heart beating away under the warm skin of its owner just as before when it could see the skin. In fact, Maybe more so! The metaphysical mountain biker recalled how a blind person’s other senses become magnified, and maybe the snakes other senses became magnified too. What could be magnified within the mind of a snake? thought the metaphysical mountain biker. And he knew the snake could taste the wind with its built in snake senses.

‘I am god to the snake!’ blurted out Tessie..

The metaphysical mountain biker’s mind turned inward towards the Mind of God when the unthinking Tessie made the catch 22 statement. On one side of the coin, in one viewpoint, Tessie helped the blind snake with everything except breathing because Pastor was totally depended on Tessie for everything even when it could see. But that make Tessie a god? The metaphysical mountain biker knew that was not the truth, even if she had the human authority to kill her pet snake or to feed it the best snake food.

As other people started to talk to Tessie about Pastor, diverting her attention away from the metaphysical mountain biker, the metaphysical mountain biker’s mind pondered the catch 22 statement of Tessie, ‘I am god to Pastor.’ He thought to himself, ‘What is the real God to the snake, to the universe, and to all people on planet earth? God is the unhuman nature of Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love. (Science and Health, pg. 465. By Mary Baker Eddy.)

The metaphysical mountain biker began to have compassion on the blind snake, so he turned to what he knew was the real God of Pastor, the Brazilian Rainbow Snake. The metaphysical mountain biker began to again realize that what the human brain and human mind sees as a limited reptile body called a seeing or a blind snake, the Infinite Mind or Intelligence called God could only see an individual intelligence with unlimited spiritual senses that were forever perfect, outside the limited conception of the human brain.

The Mind of God, which is not inside a limited human brain, only sees an individual image within its own intelligent creation, and not a material creation within the human mind’s limited perception of the universe.

The Mind of God can only see the snake as an image of the Spirit of God; as a pure spiritual reflection of the whole of the perfect spiritual being, and not only a limited snake mind to snake body connection.

The Mind of God can only see the snake as an image of the Soul of God, the snake’s true spiritual identity had unlimited spiritual senses, free from the limited snake brain.

The Mind of God can only see the snake as an image of the Principle called God, the snake was the spiritual demonstration of the Infinite One.

The Mind of God can only see the snake as an individual image of the Life called God, the snake’s true spiritual identity did not have a beginning or an end. Instead, its true spiritual identity is a deathless individual life that did not live in a space or time universe as a material object because it was already living in the isness and nowness of Life.

The Mind of God can only see the snake as an image of Truth, the snake’s true spiritual identity is not a limited self-snake consciousness, but it is a pure spiritual consciousness that was at one with the Divine Self Consciousness called Truth.

The Mind of God can only see the snake as an image of Love, the snake was always perfect and will always be perfect in the Mind of God; even if humans do not see it, can not see the truth with their limited human brain.

After the metaphysical mountain biker realized the Truth about the snake and the every creature in the universe, he slowly and calmly reached his hand out to Pastor the snake. He made a Y with his fingers, putting two fingers on each side of Pastor’s wondering head. Pastor’s head stood still as he knew what was taking place. Pastor the snake was beginning to see again, in a new way than Pastor could have seen before. The snake smelled his fingers and then its long tongue flicked out to kiss the biker’s finger.

Of course, Tessie did not comprehend what had happened between the metaphysical mountain biker and Pastor the Brazilian Rainbow Boa, but Pastor the snake knew what was happening. So the metaphysical mountain biker asked Tessie, ‘Do you think that you can feel what the snake needs? Like, do you think you have mentally connected to the Pastor’s mental state so you can know what she wants, as a snake?’

Pastor picked up on the questioning clue. He yawned a big yawn, twice. Although the metaphysical mountain biker asked Tessie, ‘Why is she yawning?’ he knew that Pastor had enough fun for one day and that she wanted to go home, to rest in her glass cage.

Tessie said, ‘Pastor is tired. So we have to go home now.’

The metaphysical mountain biker watched Tessie the animal lover and Pastor the brazilian rainbow boa as they walked away as two human friends might walk together, one hand holding onto the other, with trust and friendship; as they viewed themselves, the universe and God in a new light.


* Tessie’s real name is Tuti, but I changed her name.