Universal Kindness

Happy Thanksgiving {a day late}.

This is our newly adopted turkey, Daphne.
Isn't she precious?

Daphne was left in filthy, unsafe conditions on a farm in upstate New York, when she and a group of broiler chickens were confiscated by the local SPCA after a number of the birds in their flock wandered into the road and were hit by cars.

Daphne was underweight, tormented by internal parasites, suffering from foot and keel sores, and so dirty that you could barely tell that her feathers were white. Daphne was in great need of medical attention when she was rescued. Thanks to Farm Sanctuary Daphne has a second chance at life.

As Vegetarians we have been accused of caring too much for animals.

We have been told that we care more about animals than we do humans.
I never have understood where people come to that conclusion. I don't think that they understand that when you become compassionate towards the most lowly animal, like Daphne, you become even more compassionate towards all of God's creatures.
It's not human kindness but universal kindness.

Saint Francis of Assisi, is our family's patron Saint {he is the Patron Saint of Animals after all}. He said, “If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”

Human kindness is all around us; My BIL Jason was overcome with human kindness last week walking in the Susan G. Komen San Diego 3-day for a Cure. I was showered with kindness when I was sick, and I can mention numerous other times when kindness was unselfishly given to me and my family.

Universal kindness, is a little harder to come by; people don't see adopting a turkey for Thanksgiving as being kind, they see it as being weird.
Yet, opening your life to animals is one of the most compassionate and kind things a human can do.

On the other hand I have been disappointed in humans today.
It being Black Friday and all.
I hate how we prioritize "stuff". {And it seems like it is getting worse and worse every year}.
I don't care if you're Christian or not, but this whole -I have to wake up at 2am and run through the store like a crazy woman, pushing people out of my way, so I can get a lame DVD for $1.97- seems the exact opposite of human kindness.
It just doesn't seem right to me, the day after we celebrate all of our many non-materialistic blessings, we go capitalistic crazy. Where's the kindness in that?