Our Ethos
Everything we do at A Touch of Moxy is guided by these core principles:
Core Principle #1
Animals have inherent value.
We do not own animals, any more than we own the air, the water, the stars. We do not possess them as mere objects or accessories. Our fellow creatures have their own beingness, their own spirits, and are made of the same stuff as us. All forms of life are worthy of dignity, respect, and compassion.
“The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.”
– Dr. Paul Farmer
Core Principle #2
Animals make us whole.
We are one with all of creation. Interconnected and interdependent, we are bound to one another’s fates. Our relationships with animals are mirrors revealing our attitudes toward Life and our place in the world. To take responsibility for another being is to be entrusted with a sacred guardianship: we nurture, we protect, we defend, we love.
“A human being is part of the whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a prison, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
– Albert Einstein
Core Principle #3
Love does not distinguish between species.
Animals call forth the best in us. As pure expressions of Being, they allow us to give and receive unconditional love, acceptance, and affection. These simple relationships are undeniably profound: they help us stay in the moment and remind us of what’s most important. The love we feel for and from them is the same love, the same elemental force, that permeates all things.
“The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.”
– Charles Darwin
Core Principle #4
All healing is self-healing.
Direct experience is the bedrock of A Touch of Moxy. Instead of solely relying on someone else’s word, we’re invited to find out what we feel, what we need, what our path toward healing looks like, and then honor what’s true for us and our own animal relationships. When we’re able to show up for ourselves in this way, the whole world changes.
“In reality there are no others, and by helping yourself, you help everybody else.”
– Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Core Principle #5
Death is not the end; there is no separation.
Grief is the hardest experience life offers. And yet no level of pain, no amount of tears, no period of time, can take away the love we share with our beyond-human soulmates. Love is what’s true. Love is eternal. The physical form diminishes and disappears—love does not. Love stays.
“Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul, there is no such thing as separation.”
– Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī
