Lone Wolves

We are individuals. We are also part of a group.

Social mammals engage in a rich and complex dance of communication, mediation, and cooperation while governing both themselves and their need as individuals, and also maintaining and strengthening their social connections with other individuals who are part of their group. The complexity and lasting power of these external connections depend on the species in question. When it comes to highly social mammals like humans, the lines begin to blur. Although individualism has taken root in the subconscious of westerners, they still inadvertently engage with their nature as a communal species. Cultural identity, family identity, state identity, interest identity, etc to name a few. Despite how adamantly your average American would protest, kicking and screaming, they are not "lone wolves". They are not sticking it out for themselves and themselves alone. They still (begrudgingly) adhere to their base instinct regardless of whatever hogwash ideologies they've convinced themselves of. They are, and will always be, part of a group. They rely on one another for their survival and their physical and emotional wellbeing. 

The same could be said of canines.

We are individuals. We are also part of a group.

It is my understanding that these lines are even more blurry when we look at canine social dynamics. Individuals bring unique qualities to a group environment. They have their own mode of thinking and understanding, their own experiences, and their own preferences and needs that interact with and alter a group dynamic in various ways. For us, all of this expression is inherently geared toward one overarching thread that sits at the heart of every canine's being. We do this for our group. We live for our group. We are our group.

What is a canine without their group? Dead, mostly. If not dead, then without purpose.

This is where I find myself. Caught in the space between; in the static. The world keeps telling me that I must not be me in order to be happy. To alter the very fabric of my being in order to survive in the human world. Whatever that even looks like, really. Even with those who "know", knowing is not something they are capable of. They lack the capacity to understand what it's like to live for more than yourself. For something to matter more than yourself, and why I am unable to do as they deem necessary in order to be worthy of their empathy.