Gratitude instead of Sorrow

The other day, I got behind a truck full of turkeys in cages, just like this picture. I started to cry. Knowing where they were headed. Seeing that they were cramped. Realizing that they exposed to the cold wind.

But the Turkeys stepped in and asked for Gratitude instead of sorrow. Gratitude for the nourishment they provide us and our pets. Gratitude for the income they provide to their caretakers. Gratitude for their service.

So I stated saying Thank You to every single turkey on that truck. Honoring their request shifted my energy and perspective ever so slightly, allowing me to breathe again.

While I am aware of how we treat the animals we "harvest" for food, there is an opportunity here for humans to realize that these turkeys and all other "livestock" are beings of the Divine. And working with them, even as a consumer of them, we can bring about change in perspective which, I am hoping for, larger changes in how we care for them.

Please note: This post is not a statement about farming or against farmers. Please do not post a comment that are is not respectful of the profession and the people in it. My intent is simply to ask that we see, hear, feel, treat, respect animals as the sentient beings they are. And in that step, perhaps we will see that staying separate from or superior to them is, in fact, hurting us.

Photo licensed via Adobe Stock