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Glimpse of a Glimmer: The way we treat animals |
Category: Articles 26 comments 14 Mar 2010 @ 10:38 by susannahbe : The way we treat animals. . .Great photo :-) What is that dear little creature she is feeding? I could imagine it could provoke a lot of 'reactions' from people. you know my take on the animal thing. . . "If a group of beings from another planet were to land on Earth - beings who considered themselves as superior to you as you feel yourself to be to other animals - would you concede them the rights over you that you assume over other animals?" - George Bernard Shaw The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men. ~Alice Walker Life is life - whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man's own advantage. - Sri Aurobindo ([link]) . 14 Mar 2010 @ 11:37 by scotty : She's feeding a baby pig Here's an interesting blog about women breast-feeding pigss [link] Looking at this [link] it would seem that humans nurturing non human species isn't all that unusual ! 14 Mar 2010 @ 11:58 by susannahbe : Pig - I was looking at the photo and my first though was that maybe it was a pig, but then I decided that it wasn't. :-) 14 Mar 2010 @ 12:06 by scotty : Beautiful image isn't it ! a baby is a baby is a baby it's well known that animals feed other babies that aren't of their own species why not human being too ... all life is precious ;-) 14 Mar 2010 @ 12:20 by susannahbe : Beautiful image Yes it is and I agree - a baby is a baby is a baby! :-) We readily drink other species milk so only fair we should share ours! 14 Mar 2010 @ 13:02 by scotty : Albert Schweitzer ... "What does Reverence for Life say abut the relations between [humanity] and the animal world? Whenever I injury any kind of life I must be quite certain that it is necessary. I must never go beyond the unavoidable, not even in apparently insignificant things. The farmer who has mowed down a thousand flowers in his meadow in order to feed his cows must be careful on his way home not to strike the head off a single flower by the side of the road in idle amusement, for he thereby infringes on the law of life without being under the pressure of necessity." 14 Mar 2010 @ 16:43 by niwalen : Just don´t forget... ...that these piglets are for EATING! That´s the tribe´s PROTEINS! ;-) 14 Mar 2010 @ 17:56 by scotty : absolutely actually I do have a little problem with the fact that I eat meat - ... not just because life is lost so that I can eat it ( even the death of an insect means that a whole universe has disappeared - for the insect en tout cas ) but mostly with the conditions of 'growing' the animals and the deplorable way they are killed .. I try my best to eat 'kosher' - at least (at least I hope) they are treated more humainly ( what's humain about killing yes I know) All life is sacred - even fruit veggies and grains are living entities .. so absolutely ANYTHING that we eat means that we are taking life in some form or another ... I think it's very important that we acknowledge the 'sacrifice' that our eating causes .. not get hung up on it - cause everything on the planet feeds on something ... but the least we can do is show gratitude ... I think that 'mindfulness' is what makes the difference ! a [link] on killing ! Even though I eat meat - I can't forget that Osho said to eat meat shows just how 'ugly' my soul is ! ( ok I paraphrased it a little ) 14 Mar 2010 @ 20:01 by niwalen : Eating meat As with so many things, there´s a huge difference between being reasonably balanced and being a fanatic! It all depends on inner attitude. The Native Americans thanked the buffalo for all it gave them, and I think it´s a good idea to do that, even with a hamburger, so as not to forget about scarcity in some places of the world! Lol.(Yeah, well, hamburguer meat is not good for you anyway...bleh...) It´s also true that if we all ate the grain instead of raising beef on the land, humanity could be much better fed. The essential thing is to feel grateful for ANY food, I agree. That said, we try to live off the land (veggies, fruit, nuts, eggs from our chickencoop, etc), and so steak isn´t often on the menu! ;-) I have this rule that generally I don´t eat what I couldn´t kill, and that includes the chicken in the chickencoop!...(The chicken have names, LOL, and I just can´t kill them, and even when they are killed by someone else, I can´t eat them! But I don´t know if I would have that kind of feeling if I was REALLY hungry, I think not). 14 Mar 2010 @ 20:19 by susannahbe : Gratitude is a very important thing - it enables us to stay aware of things and not take them for granted, not letting them just become 'background'. I feel that maybe the general assumption that the taking the life of any sentient being to satisfy tastebuds is justified (as is done in the western world) should perhaps be challenged? Animals are used as commodities and food, in primitive societies it was a necessity, in the modern western world it is not. I think that the basic thought pattern behind it needs to be challenged - and questions asked, such as how can we justify doing that to fellow species of our planet? 14 Mar 2010 @ 21:03 by scotty : Right Susannah but everything on the planet is a 'fellow species' so on that basis how can one 'justify' eating anything ? Emotionally it's easier to identify with an animated being than with a plant or a nut .... It would sound ridiculous wouldn't it .. justify eating a carrot !!! All plants feel however and react to their environment - they even react to 'thoughts' - that makes them 'sentient' beings too .... The amazing and hidden life of plants ~ [link] I think one must be mindful when one eats anything ... whether it's ripping a plant out of the earth or cutting an animals throat we're taking life .. the important thing is how we go about it... as Niwalen says " The essential thing is to feel grateful for ANY food" Honour whatever it is that we're going to eat - be grateful to it - be as human as possible to it .. see how tenderly the woman in the photo is holding the piglet .. sure she knows that one day the pig is going to end up on her plate .. that doesn't stop her from - was going to say feeding it - but she's doing much more than that - she's NURTURING it :-) Whilst I think that it's a shame ( not to mention unhealthy) that eating meat 'daily' has for many people become nothing more than a habit I'm not sure that eating animals needs 'justifying' - but how we treat them most certainly does. Having said that I go back to what Osho says - eating meat is ugly ! 14 Mar 2010 @ 21:19 by susannahbe : I don't think that eating meat is ugly, it is just a choice. I understand what you are saying about plants. For the moment (if you don't mind of course :-)) can we just discuss animals, or otherwise it gets too diluted (do you know what I mean?) we can discuss plants next if you like. I feel that it is seen as ok to exploit and use different species - It is a tricky thing to put over, as I can hear all the counter points in my head as I try to write! I remember when we discussed this before that it came down to - "The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men." ~Alice Walker Lets imagine for instance, that people had always killed and eaten say - dutch people! Now, if they were kept well and humanely killed and we honoured them, would that be ok - if there were alternatives? 14 Mar 2010 @ 21:28 by scotty : hmmmm I hear you and I understand what you're saying ... I have to say that I've got a wee problem with that though ... simply because I really do think that all life is sacred - and that animal life is no more sacred than plant life ... and that separating 'life' into sections or degrees or categories is exactly the same kind of thinking that says that black people were made for white etc etc but I don't want to go nit picking - so please continue and I'll join in where I can ;-) 14 Mar 2010 @ 21:33 by susannahbe : I suppose that. . . . . . is my point. I don't think we should willingly take anythings life if there are alternatives. 14 Mar 2010 @ 21:38 by scotty : heheheh Sorry but had to smile m'dear - what is the alternative ? given that plants too are living LOL ( teasing you a little ) um ...did you read the link I posted above - it seems that some plants even show signs of altruism !! 14 Mar 2010 @ 21:46 by susannahbe : Teasing :-) lol - (but it could also be said that the teasing about plants is also a way to avoid dealing with the deeper issues? A smoke screen to divert away from the paradigm that man has 'dominion over the earth' and can do with it just as he wishes.) So back to my question ;-) - Lets imagine for instance, that people had always killed and eaten say - dutch people! Now, if they were kept well and humanely killed and we honoured them, would that be ok - if there were alternatives? 14 Mar 2010 @ 21:52 by susannahbe : Anyway I don't know if this discussion is going anywhere, do you? Like the rest of life, it is all personal choice and a reflection of whatever paradigm we accept as truth for us. So, I am off to eat my dinner - (dutchmen on toast! only kidding of course!) lol Speak to you later. :-) 14 Mar 2010 @ 21:57 by scotty : well OK lets imagine just that - the dutch people (or even Scots people ) from birth know that they are special - and they know that their very life energy is essential to keeping all of humanity alive ... they are treated like royalty and know nothing but kindness and gentleness all their lives - then the big day arrives ... with love and tenderness they are killed - ceremoniously and very humainly - and then we put them in the pot and have a party and thank their 'souls' for their gift of life to us ! ( some ancient cultures did just that or so I believe ) Yes sure I could live with that - why not ! Basically what we eat is just a matter of culture - of habit and sometimes neccessity ! How we go about it is another matter ! ( IMHO ) 14 Mar 2010 @ 23:13 by susannahbe : Choices It is all personal choice and we must all do what our own conscience dictates. I shouldn't really let myself start discussing this issue as it is quite an emotionally charged subject for me - not good for objective discussions! lol So I do hope you will understand if I bow out of this one. :-) . 15 Mar 2010 @ 05:43 by scotty : Susannah bow out - yes of course no problem m'dear .. very wise idea  15 Mar 2010 @ 10:58 by susannahbe : Thanks Scotty . . .if you catch me trying to join in a discussion on this subject again rugby tackle me to the floor and stop me! lol Much love to you - hope you are feeling better soon, until then take it easy. x 15 Mar 2010 @ 14:03 by scotty : Promis ! we ALL will ... mind you - maybe you're a slippery wee rascal and you'll manage to squirm your way out 
heheheheh 15 Mar 2010 @ 15:27 by niwalen : A tricky discussion I think that there is way too much "charge" on the subject, so I will also diplomatically bow out on this one. *grin* 15 Mar 2010 @ 15:38 by scotty : self-love and self-respect means honoring other peoples boundaries  15 Mar 2010 @ 17:08 by bushman : Hmm, Seems to me most preditory animals violently kill thier dinners, and others destroy an entire plant just to eat one hard to reach fruit. I dont see how man should be any different. I see plants choke out other plants and eat thier rotted remains. Seems to me that once you add some sort of intellegents, life on this planet becomes wrong and evil. 15 Mar 2010 @ 17:28 by scotty : Hi Bushy nice surprise to see you here ! Welcome ;-) difficult to look at things that happen without judging it isn't it I think ( or understand) that most animals who are 'dinner' go into some kind of trance at the moment they're being killed - no doubt natures way of easing their depart .. most plants often need to be cut back anyway in order for them to regrow even stronger than they were before .. plants eating on the rotted remains of other plants - all plants need compost .. with respect - sometimes just looking at things without judgement without deeming them wrong or evil leads to a greater understanding of life and of ourselves .. Other entries in Articles 6 Dec 2011 @ 13:45: The 3 symptoms of killing our dreams 18 Oct 2011 @ 05:36: We seem to be living in interesting times ! 17 Oct 2011 @ 09:01: The Four Agreements 30 Mar 2011 @ 08:41: Paulo Coelho's Blog 16 Mar 2011 @ 10:04: I just found myself a new hero ! 11 Dec 2010 @ 11:33: Christmas in Paris 5 Nov 2010 @ 14:32: Listen With Your Heart 5 Nov 2010 @ 14:26: People come into your life for a reason 8 Oct 2010 @ 05:01: The Awakening 6 Oct 2010 @ 15:13: Nature in yellow
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14 Mar 2010 @ 10:07, by Scotty