My heart was knocked this past week as some awful animal cruelty stories appeared in the press. I make a point not to read the papers too much for all the reasons I have already written about before. However these came to my attention and I'm not even going to describe what they were about as I don't even think it's a good idea to publicize such cases. I know it's important to highlight the work of animal rights workers, but over reporting such cases, I feel, just gives more ideas to those who are so damaged that they just go and reenact them,
What bothered me most is how it affected me. I went through rage, hatred, despair, the desire for vengeance and then gloom and despondency! So obviously I handled it really well - not!
I am so of the same view as Byron Katie that we are one giant schizophrenic mind trying to free ourselves one thought at a time. And if we are all one, then they, these people whose actions I so abhor, are part of me too. But as I tantrumed around the house berating the awful state of humanity I couldn't find any identification with these inhuman people.
I settled down a bit, got to a peaceful place in my knowledge practice and then went back to questioning again. 'I cannot identify with these people, is that true?' In reality it wasn't. As I felt my own inner peace and connection with my heart get stronger I saw immediately that I wanted to do to these people what they were doing to the animals. In fact I wanted to find even slower and painful ways of unleashing terror on them!!!
But these sad people are also living creatures and I was so hurt by their actions that for a brief period of time I had no problem whatsoever with the idea of even worse things being done to them. And in that moment of realisation, I found them in me. I saw that they could only do these things because some part of them is so hurt that they are lashing out because they have lost a sense of connection.
It doesn't excuse their actions. But it does give hope that connection can be restored as long as we keep our hearts open. I was shaken by how falling into the pit of rage disconnected me so absolutely, even if it was just for a few days. But I am lucky, I have to tools that help me to reconnect and feel my heart speak again. As lightworkers we must keep on going and spread whatever tools we have at our disposal to reach out, even to those we think we cannot reach.
And just as I got back to a place of peace, this beautiful song came my way and so here it is...
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