I dont remember how or where I first got this prayer. It is attributed to Albert Schweitzer (although it doesnt appear in his notes, http://home.pcisys.net/~jnf/prayer.html ) and is very powerful. I use it to lift me out of self absorption.
A Prayer for Animals
Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends the animals,
especially for animals who are suffering;
for animals that are overworked, underfed and cruelly treated;
for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat their wings against bars;
for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put death.
We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals,
and so to share the blessings of the merciful.
Now that the live animal trade with Indonesia has been resumed the misery will be resumed. The implicit assumption that the killing is the only point of misery for the cattle involved covers the host of other violations that we as humans dont accept in treatment of each other. The perpetrators of such crimes are now dealt with at The Court of International Justice in the Hague. But every hamburger, chocolate or chicken nugget perpetuates these very crimes on the animal kingdom.
Once again from Albert Schweitzer
"I must interpret the life around me as I interpret the life that is my own. My life is full of meaning to me. The life around me must be full of significance to itself. If I am to expect others to respect my life, then I must respect the other life I see, however strange it may be to mine."
Now that we live in an economy rather than a society these sentiments may seem somewhat outdated even "out of touch" but we must always remember that greed is also a sentiment and a very morally suspect one. Most importantly we cause massive suffering to our fellow travelers on this planet. Its time to stop this behaviour.
