January 29, 2010

The Net of Life

I heard this on NPR yesterday and found it beautifully written. It really touched my heart. A passage in regards to our human connection with animals... and how they should be respected. We're not 'above them' we just share the space with them.

"The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth."

Henry Beston, The Outermost House, 1928

2 comments:

devon spec said...

wow. that's a beautiful passage... so have you become a vegetarian? on most occasions, (and i can say i've been the healthist when i was one) i love meat. meat makes me so happy. although, the 2 years i was a vegetarian, i had more energy, my hair was more lustious, and i generally had a clearer head... i hate that i'm eating "bambi" and when i cook raw chicken i want to throw up. yet, the end result is so delicious! i want to know where you're coming from... if you don't feel comfortable posting here, please email me! :)

Mrs. Maria said...

Me, vegetarian, oh probably never, I could probably eat less meat, but I love a good occasional steak! We mostly eat turkey and chicken.

The reason I posted the passage it's because I felt there was much truth between the lines. We tend to behave in a way where we compare man and animal and automatically think man is "above". We take over natural habitats over and over again, only to build that huge Wal-mart. We have quite a few coyotes near our neighborhood, I can't help to think if where we live was once upon a time their land. They look malnourished and it's so sad.

The truth though, is that the passage gave me peace. We had to return our dog to their original rescue group, I'm still sad about it but it was the most fitting choice. I think that NPR episode allowed me to understand a lot more about our human relationship with pets and co-living with animals in this world. I think animals are indeed a source of food but we can do so respectfully.