From a reader:
I become very upset and down when I hear what is happening to many of the large animals on our planet especially elephants and today I heard about the drastically declining numbers of manatees from a poison in the oceans. It is bad enough that humans create atrocities on each other. Yet, what happens to animals as the result of human actions is something that I find so difficult to understand. It causes great pain in my heart, especially knowing we are all one.
How do you live with this and not let it negatively effect your own state of happiness?
Honor All of Life, Starting with YOU!
The greatest error we can make is to forget to love our own life.
When we neglect, forget, ignore or deny the life we have, we are wasting, destroying or poisoning ourselves.
When we do not love ourselves fully, we cannot love all life fully.
What we do within is the beginning of what we do outside ourselves.
The circle of life begins with us.
When we are neglectful of the part we play, we will neglect and ignore other parts of the circle of life.
When we learn to love ourselves as essential in the circle of life, we will honor all other parts.
Life is a unified whole.
We are in this together.
When we do harm, everyone is hurt.
When we offer help, all life is benefitted.
When we reach out with loving kindness, we are creating more loving kindness everywhere.
When I eat, it is my gratitude I extend to the earth, the plants, the rain, the sun.
When I drink, it is my genuine appreciation that is given and received by me.
When I smile on another, I am smiling on all of humanity.
When I celebrate the beauty of nature, I am celebrating beauty everywhere in everything.
When I kill, even the smallest of creatures, it would seem, I am killing a small piece of all life in me.
When I destroy something that lives with meaninglessness, am I not wasting what is a miracle of life?
When I ignore and neglect to be helpful and grateful, am I not denying help and gratitude I have to give?
When I see something that seems wrong to me, am I not called to make it right?
What do I do when I am bumped or upset by something I see or hear or feel or know?
I stop and listen to the wakeup call.
I listen to my inner voice of love, my intuition, my heart/mind, my conscience, my connection.
I ask, “ What can I do to heal, to help, to bring peace, to make right what is wrong?”
The answers come from the part of me that is connected and joined with those who are hurt or afraid.
I may hear to send blessings or prayers.
I may hear to offer physical or financial help.
I may hear to be more conscientious in my choices.
I may hear to educate to teach others to be more aware.
I may manage my own resources with greater care.
I may take action politically or legally or through a cause.
I may simply forgive my brothers who are one with me for being ignorant.
I may feel deeply with empathy and profound love and respect.
Each step I take in my own life to honor me and you and everything that is awakens me.
Every time I reach out with loving kindness to all of us, I expand my capacity to love.
Every moment I am aware how much I care, I encourage caring in you and all of us.
The simply act of taking time to stop, look and listen changes all the world for all time.
Yes, there is no simple act of loving awareness that is not valuable and healing for all life.
You and I are making a difference as we remember to live with respect for all life.
Loving us as we join with consideration of all we have, all we do and all we are.
Betty Lue
Are you paying attention?
Behaving As If God in All Life Matters” by Machaelle Small Writght
World Peace Diet by Will Tuttle
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
New Diet for America by John Robbins
And so many more!!
Some of us simply need to watch and listen to the earth and seas, the birds and trees.
They will speak to us. We simply need to listen with our hearts to know.