The other day, I was sitting in the garden with a friend. The cat that lives with me strolled by, and I greeted him and asked if he had had a nice day so far.
The cat said “meow” and left.
My friend looked at me in surprise and asked, “Do you always talk to the cat?”
“Yes,” I said, “of course.”
“But it's an animal. It won't understand you.”
“You're right, the cat probably won't understand the words, I say. Especially because I mostly speak German to him. And as far as I know, he's a Danish cat. The dog is from Romania and probably doesn't understand German either. Even if I speak English or Danish, it will be difficult for them. And what about all the birds and spiders I talk to? I have no idea where they come from. But you know what? I talk to them because I want to show them that I notice them, that I'm happy to have them around. It's gratitude and my way of saying thank you. Furthermore, most of them are very patient listeners. And it's nice to share thoughts, especially the weird ones. And last but not least, I think that language is more than the words we form from it. It has something to do with attention, meaning, mindfulness, and feelings ...”