We animal liberators are a lot like dandelions. A lot of people would rather we not appear in their lawns even though our bright yellow blossoms are quite beautiful. They try to pull us up by the roots or spray us with herbicides of all kinds, but somehow we always manage to pop back up cheerily and then overnight turn into the most lovely puffballs, full of hundreds of seeds.
We animal liberators are a lot like dandelions. A lot of people would
rather we not appear in their lawns even though our bright yellow blossoms
are quite beautiful. They try to pull us up by the roots or spray us with
herbicides of all kinds, but somehow we always manage to pop back up
cheerily and then overnight turn into the most lovely puffballs, full of
hundreds of seeds. All we need is a little wind and there go our seeds
flying about like tiny birds. That’s why the number of vegans (and
dandelions) increases every day. We dande-lion-hearted activists have
planted a lot of seeds with both our thoughts and our actions.
It’s been said that we attract what we think about most. That is why it has
also been said that every thought is a prayer. Atheists and theists alike
“pray,” in that broad sense, whenever we have a thought. Our dilemma as
animal liberationists is that we have awakened from the cultural trance that
ignores animal suffering and are now painfully and constantly aware of the
terrible plight of the animals. In the true meaning of the word
“compassion,” we are “suffering with.” What do we do, then, with our
feelings and thoughts? We have gone through the door of denial, and now we
can’t Not Know.
Our thoughts and feelings often turn to rage at what is happening, anger at
the perpetrators, burn-out after working so hard with seemingly little
progress, loneliness from being ostracized by some, and endless grief over
the animals whom we cannot physically save. But if it is true that we
attract what we think about most, then for the sake of the animals and
ourselves, we must acknowledge the injustice while simultaneously attracting
what we want for the animals. We want to “attract” their liberation.
Therefore, the majority of our thoughts must be Loving thoughts empowered by
the feeling of Love if we are going to bring animal liberation into reality.
The question for all of us is--how do we keep our thoughts focused on this
Love and this Vision of peace for all beings. It is a challenge that
activists for justice have faced through the ages. It requires us to take
time to feel the joy and peace that lies within each of us and connects us
all to each other and to the animals. It is from that place of peace that we
can find the strength, the optimism, and the wisdom to do our part for the
animals. In Defense of Animals’ has developed a Sustainable Activism
Campaign whose goal is to help us all with that challenge. IDA offers many
resources to help activists.
Among those resources are:
Gandhi said, “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won… Think of it—always.”
Our awakening to the
plight of the animals was an awakening to love for all beings and to
reverence for all life. We have the great privilege of seeing with our
hearts what peace and liberation for all beings can look like. We have been
blessed with the ability to love unconditionally just as the animals do. May
the seeds of all our thoughts, feelings, prayers, and actions bloom with
that love. Imagine, feel, and know that humanity is being transformed and
animal liberation is close at hand.
Return to: Animal Rights/Vegan Activist Strategies