This sort of smile makes Us look classy and classical, all at the same time.
One reason We keep our mouths shut when having a portrait done is that We don’t have front teeth, We family members in Africa. We don’t need front teeth for cropping grass and dealing with shrubs. We just have extra tricky lips…soft, supple, yet decisive.
Smile. You sort of got a free trip to the Louvre today.
Your Inner Rhino: lots to smile about!
We do not approve of bragging, per se. At the same time, We do not believe in denying our Capacities. It seems ungrateful and limiting to pretend to be less than We are. So We revel hourly, reflecting our delight in the gifts We have been granted. But We do it discretely… a balanced approach. Sometimes We just drift into a secluded spot (as shown) and roll around in madcap glee on our own behalf. Other times We smirk and look mysterious, and very pleased with ourselves.
Occasionally We give way to Melancholy, but not often. Let’s face it: sometimes things stink.
Nature’s ways are pretty cut and dried. Death can trip Us up, but why fuss about it? Woe seems a bit like an overstatement, like a distinction from Everybody Else.
Our solution to troubling thoughts is to keep chewing and improving ourselves. Those are our assignments. We have to do what We can do.
Hamlet is a pretty good play, all the same.
Some critters hold onto Tradition, assuming it will see them through. Looking backward mostly means ignoring the present. So, though We are utterly proud of our RhinoPast, We are geared primarily to see how the present is changing to accommodate tomorrow- which is on its way, like it or not. Or at least, it always has been up to now.
In the Wild no Rhino dies of Old Age. We live each day upbeat, perfectly aware that our individual part of the project may be done at any time. We don’t let that idea make us blue. But We don’t forget it either.
The trickiest part of the Rhino’s span is Adolescence, the time when We strike out into the world, full of Spunk and unrestrained by Experience. That said, any of Us can go at any time of life, and the dragons We face may arrive at any moment.
These dragons are Famine, Disease, Competition, Confrontation, and Greed. These are not the Deadly Sins, these are the Facts of Life- in the Wild. We do not fret over the matter; We’d get depressed. We strut along, enjoying the time We are given. “Tra la la”, that’s what We say. Feel free to quote Us.
We are aware of your concepts of the interior body, but Science is not a system We embrace when pondering what goes on inside Us. We have a team of tiny specialist colleagues, all busy analyzing the various sensations We encounter. There is plenty of room for everyone to compare notes, evaluate and set up responses, as needed. Everybody has one goal, namely the successful perpetuation of the Rhino in question. We are always in the Best Hands: Nature’s.
Our system works well for Us; possibly it’s passed along by our parents, as no RhinoTot comes along without this understanding in place. Who else is inside there directing matters, We ask? Clearly there’s entirely too much going on for any one specialist to comprehend.
When something goes awry, We always blame “Ernie”. We say Ernie is taking a nap, or We’d be hunky dory. (No, Ernie is just what We say, not a real guy.) Gotta blame somebody when We get the hiccups. When RTots get funny, they often scream, “Ernie made me do it!”. Then everyone squeals with laughter. RTots are silly, which is just how We like them.
You are attached to the idea of five senses. We recognize a number more than that, though We don’t count, so We don’t have a total to report. The point here is that We usually think of Taste and Smell as one sense. We are designed to relate to every delicate variation of Scent, first for data, second and third for Sensual Delight. And fourth.
In the Wild, nobody really sleeps the way you all seem to do. If We allow our sensors to shut off completely, We wake up with some strange critter chewing our ankles. Or worse. This is especially true for those of Us that just plop down on the ground at naptime. So although We may appear to be comatose, We are just reinvigorating ourselves for the next round of activity, most likely chewing. And cogitating.
We mostly sleep when We feel like it, both day and night. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Sometimes standing.
Babies sleep soundly, but they are relying on Mom to confront any problems. Moms know how to do that. Moms know everything.
We are reliably informed that this is how you think of us, roughly speaking. Big, Gray, Stolid.
And this is how it feels to be Us, from the insides. Exciting and effervescent and revved. The wonder is that We don’t exhaust ourselves, feeling so dynamic.
The ticking of a watch may be comforting to you, but its regularity sometimes gets on our nerves. We prefer the natural idea of the sundial. We are not interested in the hour anyway, and the sundial is relating to the sun, so We like that. We are mostly on duty to one degree or another 24/7, even when asleep. No great reason to be particular about one hour or another.
For Us, the issue is simple; is the sun up yet or not? Day or night dictate which playmates will be active in the Wild. Many critters only get going at night or by day. Not We. We are ready to chew and make profound discoveries, around the clock… as it were.
For those of you who are wondering, our model here is a Sumatran Rhino, which explains the hairiness. There is a long tradition of hairiness among Us Rhinos, though only one family is embodying that distinction at present. Who knows what’s on its way? Next year We may all be awash in fuzz, striped or spotted. Nature has a unique sense of humor; why fight it?
Your Inner Rhino 