Despite the fact that he is hanging upside down, holding onto a rusty chain with some of the tiniest limbs I have ever seen, he appears calm and unafraid. Even when I brought a camera within 6 inches of his head and snapped a few pictures with the flash, he merely rotated his head sideways to started at me. Nothing else on his body showed the slightest hint of movement.
Does he have thoughts or instincts that tell him to sit calmly and not move? Is he unaware of the fact that green does not function as camouflage on a metal surface? Is he oblivious that I am very much bigger and stronger than he is and could pose a real threat to his very existence? Does he believe that he is tough enough and resourceful enough to handle anything that may happen to him?
It seems like we as humans are often oblivious to what is really happening around us, walking through life as though wearing blinders, seeing the current joys or irritations but missing the bigger picture. We lose sleep worrying about things that won't even matter in a week, yet neglect to consider the reality that any of us could die tomorrow and have to face whatever comes afterward. I feel indignant when someone borrows my parking space without permission, yet I have done nothing to support the fight against ongoing atrocities of genocide in Darfur.
Life in the modern world, especially in a small, safe American city, has become too easy and convenient. Day to day survival generally doesn't even enter into our minds as a problem to be addressed. There are plenty of toys and entertainment to distract us from the harsh realities of pain and mortality. We have instantaneous access to more world news than any other culture in history, but do we have compassion? Have our hearts become disengaged due to an overload of information? Have our emotions been dulled by the cinematographic assumption that physical suffering is just a matter of stunts that are made to look real?
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