Drowning...

Drowning, that's how I feel right now.  I'm hanging on by a thread. Oh sure, this will pass, but for the moment, I'm drowning while wearing a lead vest.

Today has been fraught with bad news. No need to go into specifics. Some of it is people oriented, some of it is animal oriented, and some is environmental related.

Part of my path, I believe, is to work hard to consider things from other people's perspectives. If you can imagine any topic, then I think it's one I would give due consideration to both sides. There is one topic, however, that I cannot see a middle ground on, and that is violence and injustice towards animals, the elderly and children. And, some of what is mucking me down is exactly that; how some people feel it is their right to abuse others simply because they can. And, there is a segment of society in the world that will defend them. Well, I cannot ever see the middle ground there. I think anyone who victimizes is sick, and anyone who condones it, or tries to find reasons to justify it, are just as sick.

I'm having a rough patch right now with violence towards animals. This is my blog, and it's my opinion, so I can write mostly what I want. And, I want to say that there is so much filth, torture, violence, and injustice within the animals for food industry that part of me dies with every film I watch, book I read, or photo I see on this subject. I am not alone on this, I realize. Yet, there are people who sanction or condone this saying "this is the way of the world," that they are entitled to act in such a heinous manner.

No one should come to my vegan bed and breakfast and expect this writer, or the other happy vegan, to condone, even tolerate, the defense of torture, filth, abuse or any part of mass animal agribusiness, animal abuse, or any other inhumanity towards animals.  It will not happen. If you condone this, and want to take it to the mat with me on the subject, trust me this is not the place for you.

I internalize a lot of what I see, read and hear. I absorb it and work through things in my own way. Sometimes that frustration will come out in the form of a monster workout or a faster than usual run. Other times it will come out in the form of a feeling of me drowning, while wearing a lead vest.

It's January, I brushed the slate relatively clean just a few short days ago. In those few short days, world news remains terrible, animals continue to be tortured in the name of food, and yesterday another friend of Deer Run crossed over. It's a lot to take.

I'll be back on track soon, I promise. I just wanted you to know where I've been.