My Beliefs are Really Yours

I was just thinking about something very powerful–something I hear all the time……from many different people…”I admire your beliefs” or “I respect your beliefs” or “I would never criticize your beliefs”…all appreciated and received warmly by me.

But what is powerful about the statements is that in fact being against animal cruelty is something pretty much everyone already believes in!

It’s not in any way uncommon to be against animal cruelty and unnecessary killing–it’s shared by everyone except a small segment of humans who do not believe in the idea of “being kind to animals”.

This is one of the messages I always hope to convey–my beliefs are not something distinct–if you examine your heart, you’ll see that love for and concern for cows, pigs and chickens is simply natural and innate in just about all of us when allowed to come to the surface of our awareness.

The only reason it seems like a foreign belief is that we have been conditioned to cut off our compassion at the “pet” level.

Our society demands that we turn off the switch of caring about animals we exploit.

Most of us were taught to “be kind to animals” and most of us do indeed believe that is a good thing.

My “beliefs” aren’t really any different from most people’s beliefs.

I know of no one who would be happy to see an animal beaten, intensely confined and brutally killed.

Yet most people pay for these very things to happen.

Inside all but the hardest of hearts is compassion for all living creatures.

Look within and see.