bleeding heart retains decidedly cat shape
today i got all teary-eyed over a commercial for the humane society, and it wasn't the first time! i also get emotionally involved when catching a scene from one of those animal cop shows, or when subjected to a clip on the news. like that hockey gamea few months ago, when a bat suddenly started flying around, and some neaderthal with a hockey stick decided to whack it around and laugh? uh, right. thanks for making the whole human race just a little more... worthless.
i realize that i have gotten almost obsessively soft about animals; any time that i see a sad little lump in the road i focus in to see if it's still alive, and if it is i will stop and help however i can. animals on the road have always really bothered me, mostly because it's an obvious example of how humans negatively impact our brothers and then simply leave them for dead. some places are worse than others. a few weeks ago i clenched my jaw along the stretch of highway from orlando to daytona, which was entirely forest with the exception of this high-speed road. porcupines and raccoons, benignly rooting in the soil, often strayed a little too much and ended up dead. it upsets me because i see how we destroy the natural progress of gaia, all for the sake of roads and parking lots and more housing for our sickeningly overpopulated race. and it is this very race that is so ignorant and unappreciative and cruel. by clearing forests we destroy hundreds of thousands of homes- from ant hills to dark burroughs to nests in trees- and then we drive over the displaced wildlife somewhere on the way to our unequivically important business, without even the courtesy to at least scoot them off the road. another thing that absolutely disgusts me is when i see something like a housecat dead on, oh, the 408. how in the hell does a domesticated cat end up on a high-speed bridge??
humans have such a unique gift in that we are god-like. not only do we have the power to create reality from abstract concepts, but we have the capacity to empathize with other living things. if you want to take it so far (and i do), we are blessed in this birth with the intellect necessary to attain enlightenment. and even just a little of that light brings forth a geyser of compassion. unfortunately, so many of us squander this opportunity by living in the lower realms of mundane, survivalist ignorance. although i work as a nurse, bring injured animals into my home, and avoid the consumption of meat (except for that beautiful fish once a month), i see that i really don't do much to cease suffering and cruelty in the world. donating money is great, except that it's not hands-on and it's something that i certainly don't have. maybe instead of buying a pizza, i should donate to the spca? or one afternoon a week i could volunteer with judy's pet rescue? or i could finally get involved with that trap-neuter-release program for feral cats?
otherwise, i fear i'll just adopt abandoned cats indefinitely; granted, i am one hell of a mom. just ask the fatsoes on the bed.
i realize that i have gotten almost obsessively soft about animals; any time that i see a sad little lump in the road i focus in to see if it's still alive, and if it is i will stop and help however i can. animals on the road have always really bothered me, mostly because it's an obvious example of how humans negatively impact our brothers and then simply leave them for dead. some places are worse than others. a few weeks ago i clenched my jaw along the stretch of highway from orlando to daytona, which was entirely forest with the exception of this high-speed road. porcupines and raccoons, benignly rooting in the soil, often strayed a little too much and ended up dead. it upsets me because i see how we destroy the natural progress of gaia, all for the sake of roads and parking lots and more housing for our sickeningly overpopulated race. and it is this very race that is so ignorant and unappreciative and cruel. by clearing forests we destroy hundreds of thousands of homes- from ant hills to dark burroughs to nests in trees- and then we drive over the displaced wildlife somewhere on the way to our unequivically important business, without even the courtesy to at least scoot them off the road. another thing that absolutely disgusts me is when i see something like a housecat dead on, oh, the 408. how in the hell does a domesticated cat end up on a high-speed bridge??
humans have such a unique gift in that we are god-like. not only do we have the power to create reality from abstract concepts, but we have the capacity to empathize with other living things. if you want to take it so far (and i do), we are blessed in this birth with the intellect necessary to attain enlightenment. and even just a little of that light brings forth a geyser of compassion. unfortunately, so many of us squander this opportunity by living in the lower realms of mundane, survivalist ignorance. although i work as a nurse, bring injured animals into my home, and avoid the consumption of meat (except for that beautiful fish once a month), i see that i really don't do much to cease suffering and cruelty in the world. donating money is great, except that it's not hands-on and it's something that i certainly don't have. maybe instead of buying a pizza, i should donate to the spca? or one afternoon a week i could volunteer with judy's pet rescue? or i could finally get involved with that trap-neuter-release program for feral cats?
otherwise, i fear i'll just adopt abandoned cats indefinitely; granted, i am one hell of a mom. just ask the fatsoes on the bed.