I have been thinking a lot lately about how I am living this life. I strive to be kind to everyone, even the cranky people because hey I've been there too. I've been much more in tune to nature lately, and appreciate the birds singing their songs and watch them feeding their babes. I like to watch the squirrels chasing each other around my yard. I get teary every time I see a dead animal on the side of the road and wonder if they suffered greatly.
And then I start thinking about how we (as a collective) assume that we have more rights than animals to live here. While visiting M and P last weekend, P started complaining about the rabbits living under the deck and how they were eating the plants and then how the geese were pooping all over the golf course and they really needed to do something to get rid of them. I started getting really annoyed. We cut down trees to build houses and take away the natural habitat for so many animals and then when they come hang out in our yards because they have nowhere else to go, we want to get rid of them there too. We have exterminators come and spray our homes to get rid of bugs and we spray our yards to eliminate weeds. I am guilty of freaking out and calling the exterminator immediately when I found a huge wood roach in my house last year and then the fleas. Since then though I have not had the exterminator back. I would rather have a few bugs then spray chemicals that could cause even more problems. I'd rather take the spider outside then kill him because he'll take care of some of the other bugs. I will kill silverfish though because well they are really creepy!
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I am being more mindful of how I treat all creatures, humans and animals, insects and arachnids. Maybe if we start with the little things, like picking up an inch worm and setting him outside, then maybe we build up to taking that spider by its thread and putting him outside too. There is so much value in all life, we all have a purpose here, maybe we should let the weeds and insects, spiders and squirrels, serve theirs instead of trying to figure out ways to get rid of them. Then maybe just maybe we can extend that mindfulness to how we treat other people.