That, Too, is Child Abuse
A Majestic Creature, Indeed.
Since my son has decided lately that afternoon naps are not his forte, I decided to drive him around our little town this late afternoon; he still did not sleep. On the way back home, I noticed this gorgeous creature standing tall in the corner of a farm, inviting me to go over and say hello. And so I stopped, pulled over, reversed and took Declan out to meet this big, beautiful brown stallion. He was a stunner with a glowing main, total trust in his demeanor, eager curiosity in his eyes, and a deep sense of presence emanating from his heart. He embodied his space. He knew me, and I knew him, on an energetic level. In graciously sharing a few moments with this life force, I was frequently overcome with sheer joy just by being in his presence, by being welcomed in his domain. What an absolute gift!
I spent a long while contemplating the majesty of this horse. The sheer beauty of his existence. The magic of the moments we were sharing together. His unshakable trust in me, this total stranger. His ability to look me in the eyes, put his face in my hand, and relax into me.
What Would Declan Do?
When I looked down on the floor to see how Declan was responding to this massive animal from his car seat, I noticed the loving half smirk-smile on his face. I've seen that look before -- when we hung out with some chickens in our neighborhood.
My son loves animals. All animals -- he trusts them completely; he has no sense of fear around them; has a connection with them that is obvious in his demeanor toward them.
The look on my son's face in that instant made me realize how much little humans connect with animals, on a deeper energetic level.
This majestic creature cannot possibly be just a piece of meat.
Because my brain works this way, I wondered what his response would be, what his face would contort to, if he was exposed to factory farming and slaughterhouses instead of this free beauty full of Life? Would he have that love smitten smirk-smile on his face? Would he be so relaxed and calm? Would he look the terrified animals in the eye as they are screaming for their lives? Would he have the same look if the animal was imprisoned in an unnatural environment, in a cage, in a zoo where their lifelong imprisonment is only for our entertainment?
*Deep breath, for my Self, allowing my body to stay connected to all that's moving through me. I sense the grief of it all throughout my entire body. And I just stay with it.*
Its all so obvious to me: If by simply exposing my son to the truth of the experiences of these creatures not so different from him (the degradation, inhumanity and brutality of the violence) he would quiver in disgust and disbelief, then I come to the cohesively logical conclusion that forcing him to consume animal flesh or various secretions by keeping him ignorant to the facts is, in my mind, in and of itself, indisputably, child abuse.
If what I said bothers you or offends you in any way, I invite you to consider going on an internal journey of questioning why that inherently obvious statement bothers you so deeply. Sit with it. Breathe. Sense how it feels in your body. Notice if your intellect grasps the Truth contained in that statement. Notice what reacts in you and where you sense it in your body.
What do you hold as "true" for yourself that doesn't map to the choices you're making three times a day? How does consuming animal flesh and the violence that comes with it map to who you believe yourself to BE? What's your relationship with questioning authority like? Are you afraid to be different from those around you? How does culture define your choices? How difficult is it to change your habits? To change your mind?
Because, my belief about it is, if properly informed and given the choice, children would never choose to violate that majestic creature we hung out with today. They would choose to simply love it. I know, for myself, when I tried to convey my disgust for eating animals as a child, I, like everyone else, was completely dismissed and disregarded. This is what food looks like.
Really, who is truly listening to what their kids are asking for, anyway?
In the name of "protecting" our children most of us keep them ignorant to the facts. In the name of gustatory preference, we are "teaching" them what's food by continuing to reinforce destructive habits that are literally killing our species. Even when we know better, in the name of "keeping the household peace" we passively participate in feeding them violence.
This post isn't intended to guilt you into altering your behaviour of consumption-- what you choose is entirely your own. This is a much larger conversation about the violence we inflict on our children by installing ideologies in them that separate them from the rest of the natural world. From their Signal from Self. From the language of their Souls. Personally, I can think of no worse form of subtle violence that lasts a lifetime and habitually runs the show of our entire lives.
Aren't kids a blank slate, anyway?
As far as I'm concerned, this worldview of perceiving children as blank slates could not be more wrong, more incomplete. Yes, children can be particularly moldable because they depend on us for survival, but they are not without sensory cues of their own. In their innocence, they provoke. They speak the Truth they sense in the moment. But kids are absolutely brilliant. They know they are powerless to act on their own behalf; they know they depend on us for survival. So they readily adapt who they know themselves to be to the external expectations imposed on them, regardless of how they feel about it.
And as adults, as parents, we too have been conditioned to ignore children's internal cues in an effort to "shape" them into "productive members of society" who will one day "be somebody". In that misguided but seemingly noble goal, we do with them as we please. We are the all-knowing, and we teach them how to BE appropriate. We teach them to stop listening to their internal cues and start listening to us, or else... Show them who's boss, who knows best. Separate them from the sensory cues in their bodies; make them listen to reason. Or worse, neglect, shame, mock, humiliate, degrade, violate.
Separation, as far as I'm concerned, is the root of all 'evil'. It starts with separation from ourSelves, and projects outwards toward people we perceive as "others", toward animals, toward fictional borders, toward our only home -- Gaia. The depth of the comma of separation from The All of Life has led us, as a species, to be the most brutal species on this planet. The most destructive, too. Absolutely arrogantly ignorant.
But despite the saying, ignorance can never be bliss. Bliss is Bliss. And bliss can only be found in the Truth of the Soul, liberated, embodied, LIVED!
How to do that, exactly? Join conversations that expand consciousness, that question your perceived reality. Both starting in January, I can recommend two such expansive experiences:
1. Wake Up To Your Wild Truth (four week online experience, meet once a week; an excellent introduction to a different way of perceiving 'problems' and living).
2. Decloacking and Living Authentically (online intensive of five consecutive days; for those who are so eager and hungry for a different way of living; for those brave Souls who are ready for an absolutely life altering experience, a dive in the deep end of the pool).
It's not enough to want it; you have to choose it. For yourSelf. I can think of no better way to live ... So, just do it and have FUN!
PS - I am fully aware of the fact that there are problems with ALL industrial industries that sustain the Western way of life. I, too, participate in activities I know to be unethical and immoral, but increasingly less so. While there is only so much one can do, I know the more I do, the more I am willing to do. Being in alignment becomes a self-sustaining spiral. The more I do that aligns to who I AM, the more reveals itself as possible. I've never lived a more thoughtful, compassionate, FULL life than I am when I BE mySelf.
What one thing are you willing and able to do, today, right now, to become more aligned with your Self?
