Sunday, September 02, 2007

suffer!! what have we become?!

Sunday, September 02, 2007
here's a reality check for all those who purport to have fears about school shootings, and mass shootings in general. it seems to me the USA no longer lays claim to the monniker 'land of the free' ~ what's free about it, if you can get your fucking head blown off, just for going to school? NUTHIN', that's what! IMHO, of course. read on, if you'd rather stick your head in the sand about all that.

I'd just published a post on time and the universe seeking balance through its expansion. And then, I had a change of heart. This public ad ~ its not new ~ changed my heart (squeezed it, too). I've seen it numerous times in the past. Each time, I feel instantly inclined to change the channel ... and each time I deny myself that indulgence ... that self-centred, petty indulgence. So many of us do actually change the channel, clinging to the pre-operational notion which tempts us each to think, if we shut something from our vision, it does not exist as a problem for us.

So ~ watch this video. Its short ~ 2 minutes. It should give you a mammoth heart ache. It should make you feel abject shame at your membership in the human race. It may make you cry. Its designed to garner a reaction ~ to open our eyes to selfishness and cruelty, as humans. This video serves as a humble reminder, on this fair Sunday afternoon, the we, humanity, truly are the scourge of the earth.




Expand the post to read the poem, Treat Me Kindly

Treat Me Kindly

Treat me kindly, my beloved friend,
For no heart in all the world is more
rateful for kindness than the loving
heart of me.

Do not break my spirit with a stick,
For though I should lick your hand
between blows, your patience and
understanding will more quickly
teach me the things you would
have me learn.

Speak to me often, For your voice is
the world's sweetest music, as you must
know by the fierce wagging of my tail
when your footsteps fall upon my ears.

Please take me inside when it is cold
and wet, For I am a domesticated
animal, no longer accustomed to the
bitter elements. I ask no greater glory
than the privilege of sitting at your
feet beside the hearth.

Keep my pan filled with water, for I
cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.
Feed me clean food that I may stay well,
to romp and play and do your bidding,
to walk by your side, and stand ready,
willing and able to protect you with
my life, should your life be in danger.

And, my friend, when I am very old, and
I no longer enjoy good health, hearing
and good sight, do not make heroic
efforts to keep me going.

I am not having fun. Please see that my
trusting life is taken gently. I shall
leave this earth knowing with the last
breath I drew, that my fate was always
safest in your hand.

~ By Beth Norman Harris 1968 ~


10 comments:

Anonymous said...

(1) I apparently missed a lot in the past few days. Geting caught up now.

(2) The Dante series is spectacular, and I have enjoyed it immensely so far. In fact, it seems to have stoked something in me, something that approaches epiphany.

Someone once asked me to define good and evil, two concepts that are often misunderstood to the point of meaninglessness. After all, people tend to describe themselves and others whom they perceive are like them as good, and those with whom they cannot identify with as evil.

In flippancy, I defined the former as "an overall strategy of deference" and the latter as "an overall strategy of independence."

I was only semi-flippant, actually, for I've always kinda sensed that when you get to the nitty-gritty, evil is a complete turning away from the divine will.

I don't see God as an anthromorphic entity, but rather a totality of consciousness. The will of divinity is carried out by all that embrace this consciousness (i.e. life-forms) no matter how superficial that consciousness is. Turning away from divine will, therefore, entails a turning of one's back against the rest of us.

So, Dante's description of evil as replacing a God's will with personal will strikes a chord in me.

(3) Cruelty to animals: it wouldn't surprise me if those who abused those dogs and cats in this PSA also abused other humans. After all, how does someone become so cruel? The same way one gets to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice.

An example of turning away from divine will? I would say so.

(4) I believe that free will does exist, but that it's not what most people think it is. Perhaps one of these days, I'll post about that.

Anonymous said...

Your poem makes me want to cry, as did the video.

x dell had it right and I can't add much more than that. Good and evil are relative terms, but we do know them when we see them--or at least, we hope we do.

I hate to say it, but when I see or hear on the news about somebody's demonic cruelty to animals, I feel that they should be put in stocks in a town square and left to a few weeks worth of elements, both natural and hurled. It may not make things better, but if anything can help make this kind of abuse occur a little less often, then by all means, let us get medieval on a few people.

Glad to come by--I've been very busy, and had to move recently, but I am glad for your visits to my blog and I will be back--and of course, I will add you to my links. Your poetry is outstanding.

And I met Maukie and scratched her belly! Sweet. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

x-dell ~ hey you! how's your weeke been ...? yeah, haha, you miss a few days, and you miss a lot around here. my existence has been a string of epiphanies of late, too.

2. glad you like the dante ... i plan to continue ... its a learning process for me too, and yes, reading dante and then skimming him again to write these posts has taught me alot. all the better if readers - even just one - get even a fraction of the wisdom i am getting from it. stephen king can eat his heart out ... dante rocks!

i like your concept of God ... interesting ... and yes, isn't the dantean definition of evil so simple, yet so ... amazing?

thinking about evil in that sense makes me aware of the ego ... and how it can blind us ... tempt us into thinking our personal will should rule.

i think you're right about animal cruelty ... yes cruelty is practiced.

eric ~ nice to see you in the yard. i fantasize, sometimes, of a scenario in which all those who are cruel to animals come back for another life as they animal which they abused.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes- when I regret not going back to college- I realize some of the greatest minds I'll ever meet are right here-
Loved what X said...
and I agree that people who are cruel to animals will be evil to people- especially little ones.

My husband and I were working in the yard today and came across a Praying Mantis who was dying...
and he said out lound, "This is so sad to watch"-
He was worried we had harmed her - (but we hadn't)- and I moved her to a place in the boulders where it was quiet.

He would die 1000 deaths everyday if he worked in the animal shelter- and to be honest with you, I hadn't thought of what a real gift his tender heart is- until right now...so thank you.

I don't understand what pleasure or satisfaction a person could ever feel from harming an animal- there is nothing funny about it. It's just cruel. It's satanic.
I will never be able to get my mind around it- not ever.

Hugs Rox :) Have a good week- I'll be reading MacDonald all week- and hope to find a better version of Dante than the one I have...
it's like reading Milton without help...ughhhhh!
:)

Anonymous said...

the great minds ~ that's the huge attraction to the blogosphere, i think. the energy and the conversation that we all generate ... its amazing ... we're like our own collective consciousness, in a way.

people that don't blog often don't get it ... oh well, their loss.

hugs to you, cora. best wishes for a productive week ... for you ... and for us all. discipline, yeah, discipline.

Anonymous said...

Before I get too far into this project...I want to make something for you-
I've picked out black and fushia with jewel tones for a scarf- would that be too flashy for you?
Both colors have meaning to me in regards to you, but I don't want to make something you wouldn't like.
I can go with something different if you wish-
Just say the word, give me the color ideas- and I will make it...
ok? :)
I really want to do this for you- it seems important to me at this time-

Anonymous said...

ooooh ~ my very own mayden's voyage scarf? that's so sweet of you ... and yes, the colours are perfect. can u see the colours of scarf i was wearing in my current profile pic? hee hee. a little flash ~ er colour ~ is welcome. especially here. i love wearing a scarf, and soon it will be the season. thank you, cora. you're a dear.

Anonymous said...

Perfect! Thank you :) I've already started it!
:)

Anonymous said...

i'm gonna have to back read some of the dante posts. just dropping in to say hey right now. i'm brain dead from a long road trip.

Anonymous said...

hey foamy ~ road trip, huh? now you need a vacation from the long weekend, i'll bet? hee hee.