I once found myself talking to a toad. It was spring, and I was digging in the backyard garden. My efforts must have dislodged him from his hidden home. As toads go, he didn’t seem to be particularly special, but he did have one endearing quality. He was persistently present for the hour or so that I dug.

I’ve always assumed that toads don’t like gardners very much. We’re always getting in their way and trespassing on their turf, but this toad seemed fearless, even extroverted and friendly. As I worked, my friend stayed close by, and before long I was carrying on a rather spirited conversation with him.

A passerby would have wondered what I was doing, but I discovered that talking with toads has much to commend it. First, it is absolutely non-threatening because one is in total control of the situation. Toads make consummate listeners as they almost never interrupt. In my brief experience with them, I have yet to be challenged or contradicted. Of course, toads don’t say a great deal, but then, most counselors don’t either. 

Should you think that talking with toads will place you in strange company, remember that Saint Francis regularly spoke with all sorts of animals, and as saints go, he was remarkably normal! Alas, I expect talking to toads will never gain a large following, but if you get a chance, give it a try. It’s great therapy and the price is right!