A Little Act of Kindness

I went out for a few puffs tonight despite the rain and discovered the pavement full of earthworms being swept away with the flow of water. I managed to rescue about a dozen and threw them on the lawn where they immediately began burrowing down into the earth. I felt gratified by my small effort. I always worry about bending over for fear of another fall. The danger to myself never occurred until I returned to my Apt.

How converse to all the years when I would go slug hunting in the evening with a spade in hand so I could cut them in half. At the time I thought that was more compassionate than pouring salt on them to let them dissolve. I remember vividly one evening, I killed over 700. I lived on an acreage and they came out like an army to forage every night. My motivation was to keep them off my vegetable patch and all my gorgeous plants. Still don't have any regrets since it was necessary. However tonight, I felt quite joyful that I could save a few lives. Worms irrigate our soil and leave their droppings as a fertilizer.

Makes me wonder now, how I was ever able to dig them up and thread them on a fishing hook and watch them squirm. I couldn't today.

I suppose we are capable of almost anything if there is a need for food. I take issue with doing that for pleasure. Thankfully, for most of us in the Western World that isn't a requirement. However, I am very aware that it may not be an option for all those who work in the meat/poultry industries and I have no idea how they are capable of doing that 24/7. I can't possibly imagine how they are able to cope with that on any level except as a means to provide for their families.  I don't  want to think about that any further. It's too painful and I don't have an answer.

And yet, I am somewhat of hypocrite since I still enjoy meat from time to time. Could I be capable of killing anything if I was starving? That is a question most of us are not faced with thank god but I expect I would/could. We hear stories of people who canebalize under extreme situations and due to starvation. Who are we to judge? I always think of "Walking in another shoes." Survival is the primordial instinct embedded within all life forms on the planet. So grateful that I have never been faced with that level of survival.

~ Tutte ~

Subsequent to this post, I will add that I was out later tonight and saw a huge black slug slowly crossing the pavement, I kicked him into the nearest patch of earth. Later when I returned to the same location and wanted an affirmation that I hadn't done him any harm, I discovered that he was happily procreating with a fellow slug. They are hermaphrodites BTW.