how it should be.

happy friday!

this video was the first video i watched this morning, randomly, thanks to patrick.

man, i cried because it's so beautiful, but i also cried because of the pain and fear you see in the animal's face. 

i really cannot handle the death of a precious animal; watching it, i am immediately welling up in tears. 

this really makes me think, i should NOT be eating animals. i've mentioned this before, but i feel like if i can't handle watching an animal die and look into it's eyes, then i really have no business eating meat. i've killed a fish before, and it was definitely hard and sad. to watch the flapping body bounce around until is finally stops is rough :( . but i did it, said a prayer, and ate that fish for dinner with much celebration. this feels like the right thing to do to me.

it makes me upset that we common civilized humans are so far from the animal's life and its slaughter. we don't have to partake in any of the messy real stuff, only witnessing the tasty piece of meat at the grocery store or restaurant (or farmer's market if you're lucky!). it's not fair to the animal, and the respect if should be given for sacrificing its life for us.

the problem is, our society makes it so easy to forget. a hot dog on the street smells sooo good and it doesn't look anything like an animal. but within that tasty morsel is suffering, pain, fear... it is unacceptable, and i wish we could all see a picture of the animal's face on the packaging of a piece of meat.

i truly believe the worst thing you can do in regards to injustice and suffering is to FORGET. i cannot allow myself to forget what i know about eating meat. i cannot forget the face of an animal that's taking its last breaths. for that reason, i've decided to quit eating meat.

i really want to learn to fish, so i can be responsible for the animal i eat. i want to pay the precious being my respects, and understand the sacrifice it made for me. when i look into a cow, a pig, a chicken's eyes, i see liam. i could never eat liam, obviously, so why should i think i am strong enough to eat meat?

these are just some of my thoughts today... it's good to step back and take a look at the decisions you make everyday, and remember why you make them...

have a beautiful merry veggie filled weekend!