tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post2821804330325987094..comments2023-12-18T17:32:03.325+00:00Comments on Kindred of the Quiet Way: Reverence, veganism and the violence of lifeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-62081470046581688662018-05-12T20:48:35.145+01:002018-05-12T20:48:35.145+01:00Then may it be so. xThen may it be so. xPen Wilcockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13818227904371811230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-89512135177913233862018-05-12T20:30:33.810+01:002018-05-12T20:30:33.810+01:00I have prayed for the same sort of death you descr...I have prayed for the same sort of death you described..rebeccahttp://lifeandgodliness-rebecca.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-55889606215486973932018-05-12T18:36:19.404+01:002018-05-12T18:36:19.404+01:00Curious and intriguing, isn't it? Because of c...Curious and intriguing, isn't it? Because of course the sparrow hawk and the Ebola virus were God's bright idea too. If I can make any sense of it at all (which I'm not sure I can), then it is in the direction of wondering if we need to change our expectations of life, learning both compassion, and acceptance of the suffering and death that are integral to it. <br />I have never read Terry Pratchett's book "Mort", but the snippets of it I have come across suggest to me that there are some very worthwhile reflections on death in that book.Pen Wilcockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13818227904371811230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-29534716374411957102018-05-12T18:23:10.289+01:002018-05-12T18:23:10.289+01:00I have struggled with this subject on and off for ...I have struggled with this subject on and off for years. Thank you for this reflective and well thought out piece. I wish that life did not thrive on death. The cyclical nature of our physical reality is so difficult to reconcile. We are born with canine teeth and ineffective appendixes. It seems that we are made to be omnivorous. I don't think it was the original design. Did God say in genesis that he gave people the fruit and seed bearing plants to eat? Yet then followed all the animal sacrifice. It confuses me but perhaps it was the result of sin that death was made a part of life. I have been vegetarian on and off over the years and now eat meat for health reasons. I am strict about how the animals that provide my families meat and dairy are raised, treated and slaughtered. It still feels like I'm burying my head in the sand sometimes but I also completely agree with your arguments about how we treat parasites such as ticks and lice and whether a well lived if brief life is better than know life at all or a life of constant struggle as a prey animal in the wild.Suzy Koplikuhttps://suzykopliku.wixsite.com/liliesandpearlsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-3724931985474314412018-05-02T08:14:27.562+01:002018-05-02T08:14:27.562+01:00I like your conclusions. It is indeed a serious th...I like your conclusions. It is indeed a serious thing to preside over the death of a living being. I believe it's helpful to us to have this awareness, and to be in touch with our own mortality. Death is an integral part of life, and for the shalom of our souls it's important we learn to be at peace with this.Pen Wilcockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13818227904371811230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-39814904858417051792018-05-01T22:24:07.319+01:002018-05-01T22:24:07.319+01:00Beautiful and thoughtful commentary. This subject ...Beautiful and thoughtful commentary. This subject has been on my mind as I've undertaken to raise meat chicken this month. <br /><br />I recently helped a friend cull her flock of laying hens. As she killed each bird, there was solemnity in the air, a recognition of taking a life. I could see she felt it keenly - taking the life of a hen she had known. I felt it, too. She held each bird gently until it passed then we worked together to finish dressing each one.<br /><br />The experience left me with some thoughts and goals:<br /><br />1) Eat less meat and not be wasteful. Use it all and make broths with the bones and inedible parts.<br />2) The chickens my friend butchered had a nice, pastured life - they lived full lives as chickens cared for by their master, protected from predators and disease before they became chicken dinners. <br />3) Grow my own meat chickens. Give them a pastured life, free of disease with plenty of space. This meat is more wholesome for my family and allows me to avoid meat from the inhumane CAFO practices here in the US. <br /><br />-Former city girl in IdahoSher from Idahonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-77889435369729105792018-04-24T20:11:10.726+01:002018-04-24T20:11:10.726+01:00Ah — one of those image, I think, that once you...Ah — one of those image, I think, that once you've seen it, it never quite leaves you. Sinks into the soul. xPen Wilcockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13818227904371811230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-9746432501790999712018-04-24T19:57:01.394+01:002018-04-24T19:57:01.394+01:00While I still am basically a vegan I realized vega...While I still am basically a vegan I realized veganism wasn't fully viable when grasshoppers were swarming my tomatoes many years back. What was I to do? Let them have at it? Ask them leave? Relocate them? No. I just caught them and killed them in the most humane way I could. And it was like a lightning bolt. Non-violence is a good guiding principle, but death is a part of life and cannot be avoided.<br /><br />I am with you on the reverence for life though. That is the most important part.<br /><br />That photo gave me actual chills. I'd never seen it before.BLD in MThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06449967376288331137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-52274759418324765702018-04-22T15:21:16.478+01:002018-04-22T15:21:16.478+01:00It's definitely trending. Some people get ill ...It's definitely trending. Some people get ill on a vegan diet over time, so I guess there'll be a pendulum swing; but increasing awareness and compassion overall has to be a good thing.Pen Wilcockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13818227904371811230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-14007662073678223182018-04-22T14:11:45.897+01:002018-04-22T14:11:45.897+01:00i just read an article that said that veganism is ...i just read an article that said that veganism is up by 700% in the past two years in the UK. wow. guess more people are becoming buddhas :)gretanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-88876046120592966022018-04-20T20:53:19.278+01:002018-04-20T20:53:19.278+01:00Hiya — I like what Eckhart Tolle says about consci...Hiya — I like what Eckhart Tolle says about consciousness. He takes the thought in part from the Buddhist idea of enlightenment. The word "buddha" means "one who is awake". To raise one's consciousness, become conscious, is to wake up. And Eckhart Tolle says you can't really blame people for being asleep, or expect them to be aware when they are unconscious. You just have to keep doing what should be done and hope they wake up one day. God bless you in the consciousness of your reverence towards the living beings who share this earth with you.Pen Wilcockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13818227904371811230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-50268564023065834702018-04-20T17:45:20.599+01:002018-04-20T17:45:20.599+01:00I was raised in a country setting to have reverenc...I was raised in a country setting to have reverence for the meat we ate. As I grew older and met more people, I was always surprised by how casually and carelessly and even greedily the "town people" would eat meat, because to them it was just something you bought in plastic wrap at the grocery store.<br /><br />But too there are different kinds of country people: we were sensitive, and sensitive towards animals from early childhood. It was just our way, naturally. Then there are others who laugh and clown around as they are butchering their chickens or turkeys, and to see their young children witnessing this and hardening themselves towards the animals' fear and chasing them down, and the blood everywhere. It can be a very vulgar production. <br /><br />I have often been confused trying to understand the differences between people - why some of us go one way and others another.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-50425602089449460712018-04-19T15:27:08.618+01:002018-04-19T15:27:08.618+01:00:0)
xx:0)<br /><br />xxPen Wilcockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13818227904371811230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-28051752127168255542018-04-19T14:56:39.661+01:002018-04-19T14:56:39.661+01:00I have been vegan for a long time, I do not miss m...I have been vegan for a long time, I do not miss meat, dairy, fish, in fact I find it rather repulsive. I am the only vegan in my household, my husband is a meat and potatoes guy, my youngest daughter and her young son live with us, they like meat and cheese, and my other children, their spouses, and children like meat. I prepare meat based meals for everyone, and do my vegan meal alongside. I would love to be able to rid my home of all animal based food, but I love my family, they love me, and as a wife, mother, grandmother, I take care of all of them and one way I do that is to feed them :)<br />We have raised chickens to eat, and kept laying hens for eggs in the past, we have raised steer for the beef. I found it distressing to send the steers to slaughter. Once we sent two to slaughter and Jersey (he was so sweet) was left alone, it was heartbreaking, he bellowed for his friends for nearly two weeks, it was so, so very sad. My laying hens were such fun, they had a nice life, spent lots of time outside, ate all kinds of scraps from the house, they loved left over pancakes and waffles (who knew chickens had a sweet tooth, or would that be sweet beak).<br />I stay healthy, I am active, I have no health issues, I maintain my weight well, my diet is low impact on the environment, and it is very affordable, I don't spend (waste) my money on the latest hyped up super foods. There is no need for all the suffering that goes on in the world, perhaps if all people were more compassionate towards animals, and more mindful of what is involved in getting that meat to their plate they would eat a lot less. And, perhaps that gentleness towards sentient beings would extend to their fellow human beings too. <br />We can all strive daily to be more mindful of the suffering of all living things and do our best to live in harmony.<br /><br />BeanBeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14484707482492844677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-15816516023762700352018-04-19T13:31:31.570+01:002018-04-19T13:31:31.570+01:00you've said exactly what i think as well. whi...you've said exactly what i think as well. while i've been a vegetarian for decades now, i've recently gone more and more toward being a complete vegan. the only exception to that is having an egg or two in the week before i do a blood donation. that helps keep the hemoglobin up where it needs to be! our eggs come from an amish farm where they are allowed to roam free and they get no antibiotics or growth hormone. that somewhat reassures me that i'm being as responsible as i can :)gretanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-25703569007127288332018-04-19T06:53:15.444+01:002018-04-19T06:53:15.444+01:00It seems so mean, but it's responsible, it'...It seems so mean, but it's responsible, it's kind. A good life and a merciful death.Pen Wilcockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13818227904371811230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55532501364780143.post-41390993445742371812018-04-19T06:03:39.704+01:002018-04-19T06:03:39.704+01:00Am in agreement with all you say here. Compassi...Am in agreement with all you say here. Compassion with respect is the thing. <br /><br />A very elderly friend of mine once described how her mother would dispatch a hen for eating; she would gently stroke said bird until, had it been a cat it would be purring, and then bring her sharpened axe down in one fell swoop.Mairinnoreply@blogger.com