I haven't made up my mind yet about the whole idea of reincarnation, but if it does exist, then I'd like to make a request. In my next life, please let me be a koala.
Why?
This photo pretty much says it all:
Koalas sleep an average of 18 hours a day. That's 75% of every day spent in Dreamland. Sounds like paradise. It might even make up for all days in this life that I had to wake up at or before 5 am to go to the day job, not to mention all the restless and sleepless nights I spend wrestling with my demons.
That's not all. Koalas spend their 6 waking hours a day eating and climbing trees. Spend all my waking hours eating and playing? Sign me up!
Those who work with koalas have also made a fascinating discovery in recent years: koalas are highly adaptable. As their environment has warmed, koalas have found ways to cool off--hanging out in human-built swimming pools and drinking from humans' water bottles were two popular examples. In other words, koalas deal with climate change far better than I do!
When confronted with a dangerous or scary situation, koalas don't flee or fight. They curl into a ball and wait for the danger to pass. Unfortunately, this behavior cost many koalas their lives when wildfires raged through the Australian bush, but I have to say, as coping behaviors go, it's one I find very attractive. Don't want to go to work? Curl in ball until the work day is over! It's the whole "if I ignore it, it will go away" defense mechanism in all its evolutionary perfection.
And, let's face it: koalas are cute and cuddly--two words that have never been used to describe me. I suppose there is a remote possibility that being cute and cuddly is an oppressive experience. All those people wanting to hug you and hold you. I suppose that could be completely horrible. But I'd like to give it a shot, just once, just to see what it's like.
Koalas are an endangered species. Scientists estimate there are only a few thousand left in existence. So, if I am reincarnated as a koala, then this adorable marsupial would have survived another generation or more. And that's no joking matter.
Koala information from National Geographic channel's "Koala Hospital."
Why?
This photo pretty much says it all:
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| Photo by Mike Richey |
Koalas sleep an average of 18 hours a day. That's 75% of every day spent in Dreamland. Sounds like paradise. It might even make up for all days in this life that I had to wake up at or before 5 am to go to the day job, not to mention all the restless and sleepless nights I spend wrestling with my demons.
That's not all. Koalas spend their 6 waking hours a day eating and climbing trees. Spend all my waking hours eating and playing? Sign me up!
Those who work with koalas have also made a fascinating discovery in recent years: koalas are highly adaptable. As their environment has warmed, koalas have found ways to cool off--hanging out in human-built swimming pools and drinking from humans' water bottles were two popular examples. In other words, koalas deal with climate change far better than I do!
When confronted with a dangerous or scary situation, koalas don't flee or fight. They curl into a ball and wait for the danger to pass. Unfortunately, this behavior cost many koalas their lives when wildfires raged through the Australian bush, but I have to say, as coping behaviors go, it's one I find very attractive. Don't want to go to work? Curl in ball until the work day is over! It's the whole "if I ignore it, it will go away" defense mechanism in all its evolutionary perfection.
And, let's face it: koalas are cute and cuddly--two words that have never been used to describe me. I suppose there is a remote possibility that being cute and cuddly is an oppressive experience. All those people wanting to hug you and hold you. I suppose that could be completely horrible. But I'd like to give it a shot, just once, just to see what it's like.
Koalas are an endangered species. Scientists estimate there are only a few thousand left in existence. So, if I am reincarnated as a koala, then this adorable marsupial would have survived another generation or more. And that's no joking matter.
Koala information from National Geographic channel's "Koala Hospital."