I Feel Good
I feel good, I knew that I would, now.
So good, so good --- James Brown
Not everyone grew up on James Brown's got-to-get-up-and-dance song, "I Feel Good," but few can resist a little foot tapping when it plays on the radio. Nor is it easy to resist a big smile stepping out in the sunshine on a beautiful spring day, or when you sit back in your most comfortable chair at the end of a hard week. We all enjoy a sense of well-being. Whether it is a good laugh, good food, or good company, the pleasure of feeling alive is one of the greatest.
Not only does pleasure just feel good, it is good for you. Modern medicine shows that a positive attitude and an appreciation for the good in life can change lives. Scientists explain such powerful transformations by linking emotions to physiology: in simple terms, good feelings relieve stress and that boosts the immune system. Now, there is an entire new field devoted to how animals like to feel good: hedonic ethology.
In his recent book, "Pleasurable Kingdom," author Dr. Jonathan Balcombe describes diverse ways in which animals—all sorts of animals—enjoy the good life. When we see our dog rolling on his back on a new mown lawn, its easy to see he is in dog heaven. But even invertebrates like to frolic. Octopi in aquaria amuse themselves by repeatedly pushing a plastic pill bottle into the flow of an underwater hose and then catching it with a tentacle when it shoots back. Dolphins make "bubble rings" that float to the surface like soap bubbles. At a research lab, a chimpanzee mischievously sneaks over to gulp a mouthful of water only to spray it all over an unsuspecting visitor walking by.
Sometimes it takes two to tango. African hippos visit specific "cleaning stations" at a spring where, much like manicurists at a spa, pointy-nosed fish gather to clean the hard-to-reach webbed toes of their waiting and pleasure-seeking hippo clients. And parrots are renowned for their patient and tender grooming of family and friends.
Balcombe makes the point that animal play, love, and other pleasures provide more than amusing stories. Like us, animals are not "just biology, but have biographies." Because they feel pleasure, they can also feel pain. This realization underscores our responsibilities as humans to not only bring joy and pleasure to animals but to also prevent their suffering.
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