Consciousness & Consequences

This week has left me feeling like I live on another planet.

Like I'm insane and in the minority for my morales and values. I've spent a lot of time processing my reactions to this weeks events which naturally, as is consistent, resulted in more shootings and unnecessary pain and suffering. I was shocked and appalled at the fact that the most attention and empathy this week wasn't given to the families of the children who had to run for their lives in school AGAIN, or the families of the victims or heroes of 911. No. The most empathy and attention was given to a man and his family who felt the consequences of exactly what they preach (I don't include his young innocent children of course in this statement). I do not agree with or condone violence of any kind, and certainly not murder- regardless of the crime. I thought that most people felt that way. And that's why I'm so outraged by people's responses to this weeks events. I saw people post about this individual, who have not posted about any of the other horrors in humanity that we have witnessed over the past few months. People who haven't condemned all the school shootings, the non white humans being ripped from their families and detained in detention camps or deported to countries they've never been to, the democratic politicians murdered in their home this summer, the senseless murders of innocent people outside our country, that our country financially helps to fund. So why the uproar over this person, who vocally admonished empathy and stood for separation? For a world of "us vs. them." Who preached the very thing that ultimately led to his demise? I wouldn't wish death upon anyone.  But I also acknowledge that many people will be safer without his preachings. So his death is not the one I will memorialize over the countless others that have happened this year alone. Some people say that the reason his death was a particularly difficult one for people to grapple with is because people were able to actually visually witness his killing. This is so frustrating because it goes back to the issue of empathy. How can people not imagine the horror of something happening to someone else, if it doesn't happen to them or impact them directly? Why is that what it takes? Why can't you take the visual of that shooting, and imagine it instead happening to an innocent child in school? Why can't you imagine it happening to an innocent child in school and being WITNESSED by other innocent children? IN PERSON? The way you just witnessed a murder on a video on the internet? Why is it taking such extreme situations to get everyone's attention? And do you truly understand what this man preached, what he stood for, his actions when he was alive?

We need to raise the level of consciousness. If all of this, what we've experienced the past 9+ months isn't enough, I don't know what it will take. Our beliefs, our morality, and our decisions have consequences. We have got to understand that more deeply now than ever before. The way we vote. The way we consume. The way we treat people. And when someone shows you who they are, believe them. At the end of the day, regardless of your "politics," we are all living beings who largely want the same things- love, peace, acceptance, health, connection. If seeing a man murdered affected you, imagine the other horrors going on that you don't witness. The things you're hearing on the news. Those events are happening right in your backyard. If you consume animal products of any kind, you are contributing to animals being murdered. Your demand for animal products means that animals are literally being birthed so that they can be murdered, their bodies torn apart and broken down, and then put on your plate for you to eat for a few brief minutes of "pleasure," to then be passed through your body. Was that enough of a visual for you to get it? If that was really painful to read and envision, I totally get it. That's how I felt when I watched a documentary back in 2016 that turned me vegan that day (and believe me when I tell you that eating dairy contributes just the same). If you can't imagine yourself murdering a pig, a cow, a duck, a rabbit, etc., than why are you doing it? Why are you asking them to be murdered? YOU can change this. Can you imagine  the makeup you wear, the products you use in your house, being tested on innocent animals? If not, why aren't you choosing cruelty free products? Believe me when I say that this is as painful for me to write and think about as it is for you to read it. That's why when I became conscious of how my own actions affected innocent beings, I made the commitment to change. The events of this week lead me to believe that maybe people really just need the real, raw, in your face facts. If you don't agree with Target stripping all their DEI policies, why are you still shopping there? Why are you giving your hard earned money to organizations that don't care about YOU?

Please know that all of this is a work in progress for me too. And I get it's hard to change everything overnight, and the amount of work to be done is overwhelming. We are all naturally going to have certain issues that affect us and resonate with us more deeply. For me, I obviously am non negotiable over animal death and cruelty, so I stand for that first and foremost and do not waiver in my commitment. Whereas, where I put my money has been a harder transition and is still a work in progress. I haven't shopped at target since their DEI changes, but I have struggled to fully cut off Amazon 100%. So I'm doing my best to scale it back as far as possible and hope to soon not support them at all. I do my best to support local and small businesses where I can before the big corporations.

None of us are perfect, but we all have opportunities in our daily lives to make choices that impact not just ourselves, but the world at large. I was astonished by the amount of people who spoke out this week about this man's death. It saddens me and infuriates me that that is what got people's attention. But if that was you, I hope that it opens your eyes to everything else that has been going on. I also hope that you take the time to understand what this man stood for, and see if it aligns with your morales and values. Any murder is unacceptable, but our focus needs to be on helping the innocent, the voiceless, the beings filled with love- not those who encourage the worst in humanity. Our voices and our actions matter and they are powerful. Let's use them for good.  

XO