Glancing through the national geographic website, something caught my eye and made me dig deeper. It was a massacre of life. Its sad that humanity is forced to resort to such means to put food on the table. It was a massacre of a hundred or so elephants for their tusks. Its as though they are not considered precious when alive, but more when dead. It is a very gruesome sight, to see so many carcasses with their heads slashed mercilessly.
African Elephants Slaughtered in Herds Near Chad Wildlife Park
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060830-elephants-chad.html
Its as though humans are being killed for their bones. Nobody sees it that way, why...is it just cause they are not human, or they dont fight back. Its truly amazing how small we are and how restricted and convenient our established morals are. Has life itself become so confined for us, that we consider no other life form more important than the human life form. That spark of life that keeps our heart beating, is it any different from the spark that keeps any other creature alive. It is sad that we are down to such a narrow definition for life.
Life, as per the dictionary
Main Entry: 1life  Pronunciation: 'lIf Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural lives /'lIvz/Etymology: Middle English lif, from Old English lIf; akin to Old English libban to live -- more at LIVE 1 a : the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body b : a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings c : an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction 2 a : the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual b : one or more aspects of the process of living 3 : BIOGRAPHY 1 4 : spiritual existence transcending physical death 5 a : the period from birth to death b : a specific phase of earthly existence 6 : a way or manner of living 7 : LIVELIHOOD 8 : a vital or living being; specifically : PERSON 9 : an animating and shaping force or principle 10 : SPIRIT, ANIMATION 11 : the form or pattern of something existing in reality 12 : the period of duration, usefulness, or popularity of something 13 : the period of existence (as of a subatomic particle) -- compare HALF-LIFE 14 : a property (as resilience or elasticity) of an inanimate substance or object resembling the animate quality of a living being 15 : living beings (as of a particular kind or environment) 16 a : human activities b : animate activity and movement 17 : one providing interest and vigor <life of the party> 18 : an opportunity for continued viability 19 capitalized, Christian Science : GOD 1b 20 : something resembling animate life life> |  |
None of the 20 definitions are limited to the human form. Maybe it is time we define life in a box since thats how microscopic our view of it is. We should change the definition so that we face the truth that we are arrogant self limited species. The other option is to learn the true meaning of it and begin changing our ways to respect life in all its forms of occurence.
We kill trees to make paper and value that form of paper. We irradicate life and replace it with inanimate objects. Somehow objects have more value. Agreed it was introduced to have a common and fair system of exchange for services rendered. But unfortunately today, it has been given so much value that even life seems diminished before it. Life, feelings, love, faith, education all are but words bound by this material. Everything today is directed in such a way as to how one can get more of this paper. Ones passion, ones intuition has no value and to a large extent suppressed in most communities. It is a sad state of affairs.
One can only hope that some day we realise the true value of life itself and learn to respect it beyond the box. Life is a choice, live it wisely.
"DO NOT ENCOURAGE THE TRADE OR PURCHASE OF IVORY, FUR OR ANY PRODUCTS THAT EXPLOIT LIFE. HELP SAVE DIVERSITY, HELP SAVE LIFE."
5 comments:
The post is a very commendable attempt on your part. But like any good post this one triggers more questions: how far are you willing you to go to know if we are harming life just by going our daily life? How should one live so as to know that they are not harming life? Can you face the truth that our current style of existence harms some life form?
There is only one way to solve issues of this nature - to live in an environmentally conscious and responsible life. Only through individual action will any change occur...
A Dog Has Died
My dog has died.
I buried him in the garden
next to a rusted old machine.
Some day I'll join him right there,
but now he's gone with his shaggy coat,
his bad manners and his cold nose,
and I, the materialist, who never believed
in any promised heaven in the sky
for any human being,
I believe in a heaven I'll never enter.
Yes, I believe in a heaven for all dogdom
where my dog waits for my arrival
waving his fan-like tail in friendship.
Ai, I'll not speak of sadness here on earth,
of having lost a companion
who was never servile.
His friendship for me, like that of a porcupine
withholding its authority,
was the friendship of a star, aloof,
with no more intimacy than was called for,
with no exaggerations:
he never climbed all over my clothes
filling me full of his hair or his mange,
he never rubbed up against my knee
like other dogs obsessed with sex.
No, my dog used to gaze at me,
paying me the attention I need,
the attention required
to make a vain person like me understand
that, being a dog, he was wasting time,
but, with those eyes so much purer than mine,
he'd keep on gazing at me
with a look that reserved for me alone
all his sweet and shaggy life,
always near me, never troubling me,
and asking nothing.
Ai, how many times have I envied his tail
as we walked together on the shores of the sea
in the lonely winter of Isla Negra
where the wintering birds filled the sky
and my hairy dog was jumping about
full of the voltage of the sea's movement:
my wandering dog, sniffing away
with his golden tail held high,
face to face with the ocean's spray.
Joyful, joyful, joyful,
as only dogs know how to be happy
with only the autonomy
of their shameless spirit.
There are no good-byes for my dog who has died,
and we don't now and never did lie to each other.
So now he's gone and I buried him,
and that's all there is to it.
Translated, from the Spanish, by Alfred Yankauer
Pablo Neruda
http://www.poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poet=6638&poem=47842
I dont deny that unfortunately there is no complete way to avoid it, but it starts with small conscious steps and being conscious of it could be the very first step....
It's probably futile to make efforts on a personal level. Laws, agencies, governments and organizations bigger than the individual can conserve life.
If I do not buy ivory objects or fur coats, would that change anything?
Being conscious of all this is the first step, but to an individual, it is also the last step.
Being conscious of it and acting on a personal level changes the demand for a product which in turn leads to a general group behaviour, for example - see the rise of organic products and stores in the last five years. Agencies will not act on anything if the people do not complain about it. Change is most effective only at a personal level also because you see the changes in your life...now... not after an agency acts upon them. It's called freedom of choice!
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