A person is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred, that of plants and animals as that of other men and women, and when one devotes oneself helpfully to all life that is in need of help. - Albert Schweitzer
All my life, I've been a meat-eater, but recently something has been bothering me. I have always thought that all of humanity and all sentient beings where beautiful and to be respected. How then is it that I was not able to see the truth. How was I able to eat some animals but not others. How are some animals to be pets to be loved and admired, and others are to be my dinner? It just doesn't make any sense.
At a recent worship service, at my Church, the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville, the topic of worship was "Gathered To Eat Ethically Together."
Rev. Gail Seavey and Worship Associate Valerie M. lead a thought-provoking and inspiring service on the rights, feelings, and emotions of the animals. You can watch the service in the embedded youtube video to the left. The whole service was fantastic, so I would engage you to view the entire one hour service; however, if time prohibits this, then you can skip to 25:20 to the end. All I have to say is wow, they are right. They are fuc*!ng right. All sentient beings have feelings, feel pain and sadness; they have families, and who knows they might even have dreams, hopes, or aspirations. Who am I to deny them of these things so that I might eat them. There is something so Fu*k!d up about, eating them being; I must ignore their feelings, their pain, and their slaughtering as I tell myself it's ok its just-food. Yeah, well, that food comes from a living breathing animal with inherent worth, and I have eaten it; I have denied them of this worth and made them my dinner, but no more. No more will I fest of the meat of any animal so that I might eat. I can't I just can't...
I am going Vegetarian for spiritual and ethical reasons, and it has been four days since I have had the meat of any kind, and I must say, it has not been that hard. I have found a newfound respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are apart. I ask for each of you to provided me with encouragement as I embark on this life change, and as I seek spiritual growth as a vegetarian.