I see myself in her

All beings tremble before violence. All love life. All fear death. See yourself in others. Then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do? ~Buddha




See yourself in others. That's really at the root of everything I believe. Simple as that. 


Right now Ari is sleeping on the chair next to me. We are not of the same species, we do not hold the same rights, she is considered my property. Most people consider her to be an 'it', her life is worth less than mine, in this state she could be used for laboratory experiments. Why? 


Because she is not me? Because she is an 'other'?


Or is it because she and I do not speak the same language? She cannot build a house with her hands. But I can't either. She will never compose a symphony or discover a cure for cancer. I haven't done either of those things. Is my life worth less because I won't ever contribute as greatly to society?




She is dreaming right now, I am watching her limbs twitch in her sleep and her heavy chest rise and fall faster and faster. I dream. 


She feels fear and pain, joy at simple pleasures and loves more fiercely than anyone I have ever met. She and I both bleed. I know she would cling to life just as desperately as I would if she was being killed. She may not plan for the future or even understand the concept, but neither do a lot of humans. Should we value them less as well?


When I look at her all I see is her life, her warmth. I see myself in her. I do not see how she is 'other'. I see that she can run faster than me, she can hear things I cannot, she is more forgiving than I can ever hope to be. Some wouldn't consider me to be a contributing member of society, but I am not my husband's property. I am not less than him.




I see myself in her for all the ways that we are the same, all the ways that I think matter at least. I can't un-see that. I cannot harm her or demean her. 




Right now I think she is dreaming of running.
I dream of running too.

And a Good Point of View it is.

Point of View




Thanksgiving dinner's sad and thankless
Christmas dinner's dark and blue
When you stop and try to see it
From the turkey's point of view.


Sunday dinner isn't sunny
Easter feasts are just bad luck
When you see it from the view point
Of a chicken or a duck.


Oh how I once loved tuna salad
Pork and lobsters, lamb chops too
'Til I stopped and looked at dinner
From the dinner's point of view.




Shel Silverstein

Photo of Antoinette at Farm Sanctuary taken by Jo-Anne McArthur.


Antoinette is an individual sentient being who can feel pain and terror just like you and me. She has desires for her life, none of which include being a dead centerpiece. 

Vote for my kid!!

I'm jumping on this REAL late as the voting ends on the 17th, but I would really love it if you could vote for my little Lillers!! She has been chosen as a finalist in PETA's Cutest Veg Kid contest.
Here she is in case you don't believe me about the cuteness factor...

Thank you for your support!!!!

Long time no post...

So being tired and pukey and preggers has apparently zapped my ability to write. I do want to post while waiting for my brain to fall back into my head though, so here are some nice little pictures I've found around the web in the meantime!

Yeah... and that's all I've got today. Maybe I'll actually write tomorrow...maybe.

I got to be on the radio!!!!

I think most of you have listened to Midwest Vegan Radio, but if you haven't yet you should really check it out! Especially now that I got to be on their show talking about all things vegan pregnancy ( and some kind of gross things too). The hosts of the podcast are two awesome ladies, Ryan and Dallas. Midwest Vegan Radio covers all thing vegan in the Midwest with sprinklings of awesomeness courtesy of your excellent hosts. Head on over and check it out!!

*Hot button issue warning: I do discuss vaccination and how it relates to veganism on the show. If you are interested in any further information on the topic please feel free to ask...nicely.

Less and letting go.

This year has been full of change for me, full of new beginnings. I feel different, I think I look a bit different, and I have most certainly been surrounding myself with different people. I've heard a lot of comments lately, from people I have known for a long time, that I have changed myself so much that they hardly recognize me anymore. To that I really want to just say, have you ever really even LOOKED at me before? My sister put it best when she told me she thinks I have just gotten back to being the 'me' she always knew I was.
I think we all have set ideas of how we want to project out into the world, how we want others to view us. Everyone does change over time, but at the core? That core remains, it just gets covered up by the various versions of ourselves we try on.
That is what happened to me.
When asked to describe who I am, I often find myself going back to when I was in preschool, and yelling at a group of boys for hitting a tree and ripping its branches off. I was so upset that anyone would want to hurt a tree, let alone my peers, that my eyes were stinging with tears as I shouted at them to be nice. I just wanted everyone to be nice, including myself.
This encounter went on to color almost all my interactions with others for most of my life. Being 'nice' morphed into me becoming the type of person that was a punching bag for others, quiet about my beliefs because they were not what everyone else deemed to be 'nice'. Everyone else. The strong little girl that didn't care about what others thought as long as she was fighting for what is right became entrenched in pleasing everyone else and never ever rocking the boat.
Being nice put a rose colored tint on all my relationships. I thought the best of people even they were stealing from me and lying to my face; when I was being taken advantage of in the worst ways and even when I was assaulted. Everyone in my life deserved love and kindness in my eyes. Even when they refused to show any to me. Forgiveness is good, forgetting is better. Being alone is worse than being walked all over. I owed them all my 'nicest' version of myself, whoever that happened to be at the time.
Somewhere inside I think that little girl was raging when everything came to a head before my wedding. I was getting married. It felt like a slate was being wiped clean. I had found someone who loved ME, the real me and now I had to figure out who she really was. That little girl was whispering to me from somewhere in my heart, daring me to come and find her again.
 I went through an intense healing process with a very gifted seer, who helped me to peel back the layers and meet myself once again. I had come full circle and right back to my core. And you know what? She's nice, but she's also kind to herself first. As I started to notice the toxicity in myself, I noticed it in other areas of my life and was able to start shedding those too. I became lighter as I left the things and people who no longer served me behind. I was obsessed with feeling lighter and being simpler, being less. I also realized people that I wasn't healthy for either, and let go of them with no thoughts of regret or worry of what they would think of me. I found my voice again, and it is strong.
I have always liked the saying, 'What is right is not always popular, and what is popular is not always right.' I had allowed being well received and liked become more important than what is right. My strong sense of the 'golden rule' didn't extend to myself or to those who it wasn't popular to treat well. You will no longer find me placing your feelings above what I know is the right thing to do, or lying to you about what I think in order for you to like me. That woman is gone. I have let her go.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. When we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Marianne Williamson

Wolves

One evening a Cherokee Elder told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside of us all.
One is Evil.
 It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good.
 It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The Cherokee Elder simply replied,


"The one you feed."






Author Unknown