Do penguins mate for life? I’m not sure if it’s a function of their surroundings, but I do feel that the Penguins of the South (or the North for that matter) live in a world that’s just black and white. Both literally and figuratively. This is perhaps beyond what a race of us humans, who operate in Shades of Grey, can easily comprehend. Well let me explain. These penguins of the south that I’m referring to, inhabit the island of Antarctica, a vast expanse of white, icy, nothingness. They’ve got wings but can’t fly. They walk with great difficulty and they terrify nobody. But even with so many things going against them, at least to me, they come across as a really happy, carefree bunch.
And unlike with a pride of lions, where the alpha male likes the ego boost of having several (i’m assuming stunning) lionesses follow him around, the penguins find “the one” and stay committed for life. Perhaps after they find each other, they make silent vows, with the icy mountain gods as their witness, to love each other unconditionally, for all eternity. Well my vow of eternity lasted a little shy of 3 years, but let’s not make this a discourse on the mistakes I and my ex made. I’m simply in awe of how these penguins lead such simple lives.
It seems to me like they deal with life in black or white just like the skin on their body. It’s either a yes or a no. There is no maybe. It’s either “I love her till the day I die” or nothing at all. There is no “I’ll love her as long as her actions align with my wants”.
Perhaps we should all take a leaf out of those penguins books. Perhaps we should remove a lot of the colours we add to spice up our lives. Perhaps we should stick to the black and the white with a line in the middle that wouldn’t let the colours mix into shades of grey. And then perhaps we’d learn to find joy in the little things in life, the penguin way. Cheers
