Be The Change Toward Kindness

​Recently I was awakened to the loud retort of a gunshot. And then another. And then another. My weekends are often spent in the country at a friend’s marina where, from a duck blind, hunters are able to entice ducks and geese into their gun sights, shoot them, and then boat over to pick the carcass out of the flowing river. They do this in the very early morning hours, when the light of the rising sun turns the river’s surface into gently wavering pale gold, blue, and pink streaks that subtly bend the reflections of the bare trees. I dislike being awakened by this sound. It is very jolting, though less jolting than it is to the goose who was enjoying an early morning flight over the water. In warmer weather, we take a small pontoon down the river, enjoying the flora and fauna. I am wondering if this goose was one I would greet along the way. It seems that the ducks and geese form groups of multi-generational families that swim or sun together. There seems to be a close bond and a protectiveness toward the young who are taught well how to navigate the river, but apparently not how to avoid the hunter’s aim. I mourn the passing of each duck or goose as it is plucked from the river and think of their family, who will wonder what happened to their loved one. I am a mostly vegan. I slide sometimes into vegetarianism, but for the most part I avoid animal products, anything that had a mother and a face. I know there are many ways in which I am eating more healthfully for me and for the planet. I watched the movie What the Health?, among others of its kind, and was more convinced that my choices are the best ones for me. But I also think they are the best ones for the planet, not only because of the threats to the environment of factory animal farming, but also because I think taking the life of an animal is against the benevolent idea of “first do no harm.” It is against the idea to treat each being in the manner in which we would wish to be treated. And then I think of the harm we do to each other on a daily basis and while I recognize this place as a massive school in which we learn lessons both positive and negative, I cannot help but think at some point we should progress toward kindness and move up to the next level of understanding. Be the change, Gandhi said. We need to embrace the idea of a more peaceable kingdom. Now. Be the change toward kindness. In all things, first be kind.

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