Train Journeys - Assignment Example

Train Journey My college is centrally located within the city and is nearly forty minutes by public transport from the place where I stay. From the train station to the campus is another fifteen minutes walk, and I travel the same way back after my classes, daily. The commuting from and to my college campus provides me with a significant chunk of time, which I utilize variously, depending on the demands of my schedule, ranging from reading, listening to music, observing the scenery outside, to just burying myself in thoughts and ruminating over the past… my daily journey has also become a sort of an abstract journal wherein I keep a mental log, enter what I feel, what I plan to do, and take stock of the happenings so far. On my journey to college this morning, a disturbing thing happened. I saw fox with one of her litter lying on the roadside, with her mouth starting to froth. The young one seemed badly hurt and it appeared that there was no life left in it. The mother fox, however, was still alive and appeared to be gasping for breath. Being quite early in the morning, there were few people around, and it seemed to me that it had just happened some minutes ago. Since there was no blood, it took me a few seconds to understand that the fox was knocked down and had been injured seriously. Although I was filled with a sense of shock initially, I realized that something had to be done immediately. In order to combat the repulsiveness of the situation that was welling up inside me, I pulled my eyes away from the animal and tried to focus on what had to be done. A hundred questions crowded my mind all at once, like what had caused this… was it a speeding car or truck that couldn’t slow down quickly enough to allow the fox carrying her cub across the road and hit it… or why couldn’t the driver stop for a moment to find if something had happened? Did we human beings become so heartless? Would I have been more careful if I had been in the driver’s seat? Shutting out all such thoughts from my mind, I again focused on what had to be done. The first thing I did was to call the police and report the accident, for whatever it was worth. Even as I narrated the scene to the officer receiving the call, deep down I did not believe that there would be any immediate action taken since there were no human beings involved, nor was there any loss of property, no rights, no issues. The officer asked for the exact location and I hung up after giving him the details. By this time I realized I still had another fifteen minutes of walk left to reach the campus and I had just about twenty minutes left. I quickly pondered over what else I could do in that situation. Meanwhile, two other men, also shocked like me, and curious to know more, walked closer to the accident spot to take a closer look. While I wanted to do the same too, the fears of some unpredictable reaction from the fox stopped me from doing so. Furthermore, I reasoned within myself that I had a class that started in twenty minutes time and I had to be on my way. I just caught a last glimpse of the animal’s eyes hovering around the gathering human beings, but seemed powerless even to protest or moan her pathetic state. The eyes then seemed to become listless, as if in resignation. And then there was no more movement in her, other than the gasping for breath. Again it struck me that it would be better to try and secure help from some animal rescue organization, rather than stand mutely and watch the poor creature suffering in agony. I clicked on the mobile and searched for some animal rescue organization number and secured South East Native Animal Rescue Network, and after what seemed an endless waiting time, someone answered from the other end. When I reported the matter, the person said that he would see what he could do, since they had their rules which prevented them from taking carcasses, and if the animal was already dead then there was no point, since there was no rescue. I argued with him, that the poor creature was fighting for its life and something had to be done. He promised to see what he could do, and I had to hang up at that. I figured that there was nothing more to be done, and looked at my watch. I hardly had ten minutes left for my class to begin! What’s more, there was an important business assignment to submit (hard copy) and I had planned to reach the campus a bit early today. To the contrary I found myself late. I took a quick walk, almost ran the remaining distance, hoping to just make it in time, before the tutor arrived. I was three minute late. During the break, the incident came back to mind and I wondered what had happened to the poor fox. Partly due to the rush that I was in, and partly due to my pre-occupation with the injured fox, I had failed to follow some of the routine procedure that I generally follow on entering the campus, like greeting the security staff at the gate, looking around for friends. My friend Jason noted this pre-occupation and we had a discussion about the incident. He gave me a patient hearing and seemed to appreciate my effort to do something to help the animal in need. I expressed to him the frustration I felt on seeing the helplessness of the wretched creature and also the anger I felt regarding the indifferent driver who was the reason for the pitiable condition of the animal. Foxes were not natives of Australia. They were introduced into Australia by the British who brought in these animals from their homeland, for the purposes hunting, a favourite recreation (Williamson 2010, p. 1). They hardly had any natural predator here in the Australian down under and soon multiplied. Gifted with survival skills like a keen sense of hunting and foraging food, their numbers around the cities have increased more than in the rural areas of Australia. This is because we, human beings encourage them by leaving leftover food outside in the trash cans and bins; some of us also feed them in order to prevent them preying on our domestic animals. What irks my mind is that, there seems to be no value attached to the lives of these creatures. It appears to me that we human beings are playing with the lives of these wild creatures and more importantly the natural environment, mindless of the consequences on the food pyramid. Had fox been a native of Australia, Nature would have come up with a predator to balance its numbers, while ensuring that the foxes have adequate smaller animals to prey on. Without deep thought, we seem to do things just because we have the power to do so, and in hindsight, try to rectify errors. Deforestation is one glaring example. Coming back to the issue of the fox, I felt it was basic human courtesy for the driver to stop by, and see what had happened, without going into larger issues. Do Animals Have A Right to Life? Jason observed that while it was laudable that I did my best for the animal, to expect the car/truck driver to stop over to inquire the state of a ‘declared animal’ (Natural Resources Management Act, 2004) was not pragmatic. Additionally, it may not have been the fault of the driver at all, and everyone had their own pressures. Probably, if a human being was involved or hurt, then the driver may have reacted differently, Jason explained. Furthermore, not everyone felt that animals’ lives were equally respectable as those of human beings’ lives. After all, we kill so many animals everyday for food, clothing and to cater to our fashion requirements, he said. Are the lives of those animals less important than the lives of wild animals that roam free, he questioned. I tend to agree with him. While it seemed natural for us to systematically bait fish and eat them, domesticate cattle for wool, milk and flesh, birds for poultry and eggs, it somehow seemed unfair to me to leave this fox to meet with its fate, uncared for; it somehow seemed inhuman. The slaughter of cattle in abattoirs is not seen by us, so we are saved the discomfort of thinking on such difficult issues. We argue for the conservation of some animal species, while we encourage the culling of some animal species like the fox, by labelling them ‘declared animals’. We seem to be engineering the very existence of animals and plants according to what suits our existence. Rather than consider our species to be a part of the environment, we perceive ourselves the controllers of entire environments. We call ourselves the most evolved of all living beings and yet, many times our behaviours are far worse than even wild animals. So, was it wrong to kill cattle for food? The issue has no easy answers, as the arguments on both sides seem equally valid and justified. However, the discussion I had with Jason and the non-judgemental, explanatory stand that he took helped me resolve the issue to some degree. As human beings, we should have humaneness; and that is what prompted me to do my bit for the dying creature. The issue resolve reasonably, I found myself free to engage in other activities again, with the full attention that they deserved. Meaningful Coincidence? As I went about tackling my jobs at hand, I remembered what I had seen in the power-point presentation the other day regarding ‘Reflective thinking and Writing’. To reflect was to think consciously about something and analyse one’s actions, in the context of prior experiences and trying to understand and come to terms with them. “It is a process of looking back over our experiences, reflecting upon them and making sense of them” (Mezirow 1991; Rolfe, Freshwater & Jasper 2001) and this is something very similar to what I do during my daily onward and return journey form the campus, by train. Today’s happening has really filled my mind and set me thinking about issues that I have not really given a deep thought so far, at least consciously. However, the process of reflection must have been going on unconsciously, since my response to the unexpected situation this morning was spontaneous. In retrospect, I could have acted differently. There was a strong feeling in me that time was running out, both for the fox and for me to reach the campus, and I was urged to leave things and continue on my journey, as usual. But, I am glad I resisted the urge, since at least now, I feel that I have done my bit. I feel that I do value life in all forms, and will do my best to preserve life. Does this mean that I am converting to a vegetarian diet from now on? This is not so; however, I shall, try to avert conscious cruelty to animals, and do everything to conserve life –forms. The matter may appear trivial to some who hear or read this, but I am sure that those who value life will understand my dilemma and the reflection that this subject demands. I was late for my class, but there is no regret what soever in me, since it was for a noble and just cause. Moreover, irrespective of whether the fox survived the ordeal or not, and whether it was given a dignified end or not, the episode helped me clarify my stand on the matter. Such unexpected moments help expose our innermost feeling and convictions to ourselves, it appears. I say this because I my response was hardly pre-meditated, nor have witnessed such a situation before. I was not even aware that I could empathize with animals before this morning. Probably, percolation of thoughts and values, which I like to call unconscious reflection, happened during the time I commute, regularly. I have not seen it as an advantage so far, but now, I realize that this quality time and the everyday journey are indeed an asset, as it facilitates unconscious analyses on various issues that revolve around me. Given a chance would avoid a similar situation in future, because, admittedly I did feel a bit of repulsion at some point? I can choose to come by bus instead of travelling by train and then walking for about fifteen to twenty minutes on a daily basis. The answer is - no, no thanks! I would still prefer to travel by train, and then take this walk, to the campus. This is not because the buses are crowded and it is peak time, or that I have a special attachment to the comfort of a train travel. It is because, it gives me the important aspect of time to devote on myself, personal time to calibrate my line of thoughts, to assess my positions and decide on future course of action on various issues in my student life. I can say this confidently, now, especially after what I have learned regarding ‘reflection’ at college. I guess in business environments this sort of reflective leaning will go a long way in acquiring the right skills and acumen required to be successful. I am still a novice, and when I record my perspective on various issues along with the problem and the consequences as they unfold, and read/recollect them later, it will help me understand where I have committed mistakes, and the nature of such mistakes. This learning will help me avoid committing those types of mistakes as I moved forwards in my business career. On the other hand, reflection will also aid polishing of things done correctly or carried out to the level of self-satisfaction, and lead to perfection in future. Thus thinking reflectively is useful, while writing down those reflective thoughts and putting them in record can be classified as ‘best practices’ in business environments. Reflective writing thus will become an effective tool for even others to learn from. My everyday journey continues, morning and evening. But I longer consider it a waste of time. I continue to observe small trivia like the flight of the cuckoos, the fluttering of the butterflies’ wings, the smiles on the faces of people as well as their body language. This morning’s happening may appear unimportant and mundane to many, but it has revealed a deep learning for me, in that it has helped me discover aspects of myself on a very personal level. I am still not sure about where all this (my perspectives on various issues) will take me, what it will lead me to; but am at least sure of the direction in which I am travelling. References Mezirow, J 1991, Transformative dimensions of adult learning.  Jossey -Bass, San Francisco, CA. Rolfe G, Freshwater D & Jasper M 2001, Critical reflection for nursing and helping professionals: A user's guide, Palgrave, New York. Williamson, Brett, 2010, “Foxes prefer city living” in abc network [internet] retrieved on 10 September, 2012. http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/01/07/2787351.htm Read More