Saturday, April 28, 2012

Believing in Boundaries

I believe that the biggest tragedy in life is to grow up to be a drain on society. Many people have pets and babies because they want to feel "loved" by a creature that is totally dependent on the good will of the parent/owner. This is not my definition of love; this is my definition of need, which is an altogether different thing. I don't think those who have lived lives of self-discipline should be made to support those who produce children for nothing but their own pleasure.

I love to watch parents tending their children with patience and self-discipline. I grow tired of the many who act as if their children are the responsibility of "the village." While watching feral animals is fun in small doses, I understand why we accept a doctrine that humans have dominion over the "lesser" animals. Someone has to be able to set boundaries for humanity to thrive.

I am really quite tired of the sanctimonious self-deification of those who rescue feral animals and birth lots of babies. Why do they think it's okay to kill a steer for food, but animals who do nothing but use resources without giving  back anything but adoration of their owners, are to be protected at all costs. If we all took responsibility for making sure that we only breed what and who have extra resources to offer, including humans, we would not have nearly so many discussions about who or what animals deserve to live.

While we all need to be needed, producing subjects for oneself is not the best way to go about filling this need. There are already so many creatures, human and not, that may become benefits to society if they are added to the lives of those who will teach them to be useful. There are also many who need to be helped as they enter the last days and moments of their lives. We honor only ourselves by producing children and breeding animals for nothing but to worship us.

I am so tired of having to act as if each "party favor" baby that a couple produces is going to grow up to benefit our earth. Humans are animals, supposedly with "souls," or at least the capacity for judgement and self-control. There are, sadly, also humans who are unable to make sound judgments, but even most of them can be trained to be a benefit to society. Some of the best employees I ever had were mentally challenged, but physically capable. Even the brightest parents can produce children with limited intellects because of gestation and birth traumas, illnesses and accidents.

Isn't it time that we accept the fact that it isn't god who makes babies; it's human beings, for their own purposes. God may give us the capacity, but we exert our power to make it happen, whether we should or not.

Overwhelming Emotion

I believe that the energy that we create and share in our lives
Will live on as long as those whom we have touched survive.
And all they touch will be impacted by those we have touched
This is why what each of us does matters so very much.

So often the brilliance of life causes me to look away;
There is only so much emotion that I can bear to display.
I am so very passionate about everything that I feel,
That many run away because my emotions are too real.

I did not often share my awe of sunsets with my children;
Their expressions of awe and wonder should be left to them.
The greatest challenge that I've faced as an accidental mother
Is that my emotions tend to, my children's feelings, smother.

My children have developed their own awe and gratitude,
Not dependent on feeling my every emotion and every mood.
I believe that this is the most precious gift that I've given them:
To know where they and I begin and where our overlap ends.

They are each highly passionate, in their own ways;
This is something for which, over the years, I've prayed.
I believe that our  passion, not pain, leads us to forgiving,
And that life without passion is something not worth living;

We cannot live on fear or pain as our overwhelming feelings;
We must embrace the joys that can bring such great healing.
As long as we celebrate the gifts that we're given every day,
We won't worry about what the afterlife will bring our way.