associates, inc.The right to being.
I have been increasingly aware of the right to being of all living creatures. That includes non human forms such as plants and animals, beings that we usually don’t regard as having obviously human qualities but nonetheless do have just as much right to exist as humans. In fact if they did not exist, neither would humans. Why is this relevant to anything in my every day existence? Why should I even think about it? Because if I believe it is important to consider my being-ness or yours then I can logically extend that being-ness to all things.
All spiritual practices preach the concept of oneness, the idea that we are all connected and in the deepest sense, one. I can get that conceptually but I do not act that way in my everyday behavior. I don’t treat you all the time with reverence and love, nor for that matter do I treat myself that way. But that is my avowed goal. The bible says to love they neighbor… and yet something stops me from obeying this sacred law. But I wish to do so and if I truly were to live by this simplest of spiritual laws I would first love myself fully and completely. I do not. I judge myself fiercely and un-compassionately, so of course how am I not to not treat you the same way? As I write this I see that I treat you, the world and every living thing in the world as it is a reflection of how I see myself in that world, a perfect mirror.
So, I say I will commit to loving myself first, wholly and completely as it is said, the lord loves me. And if I can live by that law, love by that law, I will then treat you and every living thing accordingly; the worm that crawls under my feet, the tree that grows in my back yard, the plant that grows from the energy in the earth to nourish me . I am dependent on it all and all are dependent on me. They all have a being-ness, the simple and profound miracle of life. And as I learn to live and love all beings, maybe I can learn to treat myself and you the same way.