Best Way to Spend a Lunch

I had a busy day. I start a new job on Monday so I had some last-minute errands to get done, such as picking up some vegan makeup. I write for beauty websites like Type F and Yahoo! Shine (and love it). However, I have been going a bit more natural lately. So I figured why not get a bit prettied up for the job, no? Mostly for myself. I like playing around with cruelty-free cosmetics. 

So I went with my sister to pick up just a few things and some vegan Amy's pizza and some mix for adding strawberry flavor to my almond milk. Just the necessities, you know. Other errands came up as well.

I got to see the gorgeous bay. It's a bright, sunshine-filled day, and it was just over 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The sun shone, and the breezes blew. It felt so heavenly. It was just a lovely day. I really needed to be out in the world just absorbing the beauty of the day.

Now, on the way home, I grabbed a quick lunch at Taco Bell. I ordered a vegetarian seven-layer burrito with no cheese and no sour cream. A vegan meal that's delicious and simple. I was pretty psyched about eating it, although I am trying to stay away from fast food. (That's not difficult when most fast food places do not cater to vegans around here.) This is my favorite fast food meal, in fact.

We stopped at the gas station after Taco Bell. I saw a black and white cat sitting in a vacant parking space at the edge of the parking lot. It did not look starving or suffering or as though it was deeply in need. However, seeing it there by itself made me so sad. I can't take in any animals where I'm now living, and I'm not so up on the preferences of cats.

I did feel very compelled to give the cat my lunch. Just in case he was hungry. So I went to the parking spot where he was. He let me pet him, and I showed him my lunch. He followed me, then stopped for a moment, not certain I really meant the food for him. I assured him that I did, and he continued to follow me to the far edge of the space. (I didn't want him to start eating and then have to move or have his food run over.) I set the burrito down for him and left him to eat. I sat in the car, watching, and he chowed down. He seemed to really be really enjoying it, except not the guacamole. (Sorry, kitty; I'd have custom-ordered for you if I could.) He chowed down and seemed to be quite happy about it, and we had to drive away. 

I was so happy to have given the lunch to the cat. I think he enjoyed it far more than I could have, and I wanted so much for him to be well. I worry for him and his well-being. I was just in wonder of the cat. I wish I'd had my camera to capture my privileged, all-too-short time with this wonderful cat. I finally solved a problem with my camera today so I will start bringing it with me.

I want to save all the animals in the world. The thought of a single one hungry just shatters my heart. I pray and hope and wish that that cat has a safe, happy, and well-fed life. I wish I had more personal power at this moment. As soon as I get my next car (I am currently car-less), I plan on filling the trunk with meals appropriate to any species I may possibly encounter on my travels who could be in need of some food. 

Some Facts About Thanksgiving

There are some myths and facts that came to my attention in glaring ways through random encounters this holiday season...so I just wanted to address some of them here. 

1. Yes, first of all, giving thanks to the animal you killed in cold blood for food doesn't help in any way, shape or form, not any more than a bully thanking someone for destroying their spirit or a thief thanking someone while stealing their life savings. Unethical actions are not soothed by meaningless, self-serving words that mean you're thankful you have the ability to harm and have done so. Ah, how I want to scream from frustration at cruelty and chosen ignorance.

2. Second of all, sharing a photo of your mercilessly killed, decaying bird corpse placed on a table with a crude comment of how yummy the poor bird's stuffed ass is.....Not a way to display any positive attribute about your own grasp of ethics or kindness. One actress I otherwise admire even said something so awful as blessing its heart that was also being used in the meal. Well, whatever words are used, the action is just terrible.

3. Instead of "Turkey Day," I think it should be called Teary day. The absolutely obvious lack of caring about the feelings of social, playful animals with varied, unique personalities...is nothing short of tragic. Most love having their feathers stroked. They even like to gobble along to their favorite songs. They want to live. Yet their cooked, dead bodies are joked about as tasty and their asses are stuffed with dressing for a really dumb, heartless tradition. Their bodies are disrespected after having been killed in cold blood.

4. I work for a world in which people care about other beings and species who are every bit as feeling as we are and who want to live every bit as much as we do.

5. I'm very thankful for the vegetarian feast that I enjoyed on Thanksgiving and throughout this whole week...and the company I'm fortunate enough to keep! 

6. It's so important to examine your ethics and keep an open mind. That is something I am learning needs to be done often and as a part of enjoying life to its fullest. Just because something is a certain way does not mean that it SHOULD be that way. People make mistakes all the time, and we can change many of those mistakes. It's not too late.

7. The Tofurky roast really, really, really, really, really ROCKS! 

Tofurky Rocks

Depressed Miniature Penguins

I woke up this afternoon from a very disturbing dream. I was around animal rescuers who had rescued miniature penguins; they were the size of a sparrow. The poor penguins had been enslaved and abused. The rescuer had an odd method of having them, though; he kept them in makeshift, white ziploc bags. I was worried about them getting enough oxygen so I unzipped the bags.

They could talk. They were happy to be rescued. Yet, one was so near death, it said, "So they're starving me to death. It would be okay if I died because then I'd possess my own life." It could not even really comprehend that it had been rescued after years of abuse.

Such a sad, strange dream. When I woke up, I thought of the millions of animals that are enslaved and tortured for whichever ways we can use and exploit them. It is not excusable simply because it's popular.

I have been watching a lot of historical documentaries lately, and I think they lack objectivity. The narrator often interjects a way of excusing people because of the time period they lived in. Even on slavery, it was dismissed as what was done then, and a person was all but heralded as a god just because he shaked the hand of someone of a different race. Slavery was excused; cruelty in battle was excused. Dozens of things are excused because of the time period historical figures found themselves in.

No, it does not matter that it was popular. If something is cruel...if you commit an injustice...you don't get a free pass because it's the popular thing to do.

I know the penguins were just the product of my imagination, but the other animals living in cruel and enslaved conditions are not in my head. They're in the world, suffering right now. It's not okay to pay someone for a decaying corpse of a once living, breathing and feeling animal just because it can be done at the local grocery store. It's not right. It must be stopped. A human who chooses to eat an animal is unethical and unfathomably cruel, even if it doesn't feel that way because the cruelty of the action is disguised by its own popularity and the convenience of getting it from the store next door and the encouragement from the romaticized television commercial that offers 10 decaying chicken body parts for $20.