What We Need...

What do we, as citizens of the greatest nation on earth, see ourselves in need of? Minimally it's what I have seen called "first world problems." Maximally, we have many people - citizens of our great nation - in need of just the basic necessities. I find myself thinking on these needs, especially in the winter months where life is that much more difficult and dangerous.

Most recently I've been in communication with my first cousin who I love dearly. She has established herself well in life. She's smart, wealthy (as it would seem to most people), and educated. She has recently decided to raise rabbits for meat. This disturbs me... deeply. I find myself in the midst of questioning why... knowing she had been a vegetarian for 8 years before this. I asked... she answered. It's something we are deciding to "agree to disagree" on. I don't see a need. Especially because we live in this great nation, and she has access to whatever she may want or need. Reverting back from vegetarianism has disturbed me, mostly because she was the only person in my family who had made that decision for herself. Now, she fishes... hunts with guns... and raises rabbits for meat. I'm not pleased and have found myself angry in the midst of that. But, I have to take a step back from it, realizing I'm in a minority in my beliefs. I've reached out... we don't see things the same way.

What do we need? What is it that our bodies require in this existence? We have a very privileged reality in this country. I realize that. I see the world issues... I pray for the world and its people and animals. Every. Single. Day. What I realize is that meat, and killing animals for fashion, sustenance, and everyday "necessities" is ridiculous. It always has been. We live by our taste buds... not our needs. That's why our nation is as obese as it is. That's the heart disease issue. That's the thing that could change every single person and their health. It's valid... and I see that now.

We are selfish... glutinous, greedy. We have become a nation of lazy ignorant people. We don't need to kill things in order to be healthy. We don't! It's fact. I hate that most of our nation still doesn't realize this...

What do we need... we need to be more evolved in our thinking. We need to see every creature that God has placed on this earth as what He initially intended. To benefit us in our daily lives, not by killing them, but by appreciating the beauty and creative love the Lord has provided us. We don't look at desert wastelands unless we choose it. We don't find ourselves in the midst of a gray, uninteresting existence because He provides us with the realities of beauty in this world. Why is the cardinal red? What could it possibly help that bird to be, aside from a beautiful creation? It can't hide it from predators... it is simply a beautiful reality that we have the privilege to see. Yes, some animals cannot see color, but there are many animals and birds in the world who have been blessed with beautiful colors that would not be able to hide themselves from predators.

Meanwhile, I struggle with my choices... my family's choices... the things I see and cannot affect. What we need is a far cry from what we consume. We are a nation of indulgences. We are a people who are used to luxury in the things we consume. I have found myself hating that reality... and trying to avoid it. It makes me feel better about what I am in this life when I move away from killing and harming animals for my own selfish gain.