When it’s difficult to know how to react…

Only one case, but many aspects to analyze: why can people buy, sell and keep exotic animals? How are the police expected to react when wild animals are released close to a residential area? How can a man let really dangerous animals to be in close contact with people, and thus, putting both in danger? Those are questions that came to my mind after my mum told me about what happened on Wednesday, 19^th in the United States. What basically took place is that a zookeeper left the cages open intentionally, freeing around 56 wild animals in Zanesville, Ohio, committing suicide afterwards. The thing is that 50 of these animals, among them lions, bears, tigers, and monkeys were killed by the police in order to protect the people. My first reaction was: “How could they kill them? Why didn’t they hit them with tranquilizer darts?” I got even more furious when I heard that 18 Bengal Tigers, which are not prolific, since only approximately 2000 specimens are left in the world, were among the dead ones. Then, I got to know that these darts do not have a quick effect, so the police was asked to shoot them to death. However, maybe the ones that had gone far away the community could have been saved. I know that humans are before everything else, but it is unfair that animals are always in a disadvantageous position. If animals were not taken from their natural habitats, these atrocities would not occur. It is not the animals’ fault to be dangerous; people make them be like this by putting them into close contact to us. They would not be a danger if they were in the forest, where they belong. What I want to say is that these beautiful creatures paid for the human’s mistakes, once more. I think it is time for the government to regulate this issue by prohibiting the private ownership of exotic animals, and also their commercial use.

You can read the piece of news following this link: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/10/19/zoo-keeper-kills-himself-after-setting-exotic-animals-free/

The Queen’s Day

“The best present for your mum! Buy the newest iron!” “Don’t forget the Mother’s Day, we wait for you in “Fashion Store”…come and get the best clothes for your mum!” “We know you love her, so, the best thing to do is to give her a bunch of precious roses!” All these and more are the advertisements that we mostly hear on TV and radio nowadays. Everything is about buying. Everything is material. The thing is that I don’t think our mothers care about what we give them in their special day, or if we give them anything at all. I know that this day is a nice opportunity to praise them for everything they do for us, by presenting them with something. But this “something” doesn’t need to be an object or a present, and it doesn’t necessarily need to be given just in this particular day. We have to demonstrate to our mothers, everyday, that we are really thankful for all they do, suffer, and leave aside for us. You know what I mean, they stop living their own lives to live ours. I cannot help bringing my mum as THE perfect example. Yes, I’m proud of her. She is the best mum I could have had. Sometimes I stop and think how nice she is with me, and I just convince myself more and more that she is great. Just to mention some of the things she does because of me: she phones me every morning, that is, 5, 6, 7 or 8 o’clock because I usually oversleep. But that’s not all: she calls me once, and I tell her “Si ma, ya me levanto”. 5 minutes pass and she calls me again because she knows that I am sleeping again. And then again, and again until I get up. Poor mum, she is extremely patient, I cannot do this to her. I know I have to change, but my tiredness is stronger than me L.You know I am not from here, so, that means that I have to pay the rent and the food, besides of the copies, etc., etc. She works really hard to be able to provide for me, everything she earns is destined to me. She doesn’t buy clothes for herself, in order to buy some for me. I am before herself in her life. She gives me everything in an unconditional way. Therefore, I try to return something to her by studying and valuing what she does for me. I know that I have to stick to my responsibilities and try to give the best from me, in order to finish the career as soon as possible and to show her that her effort is not useless. And this, consequently, gives me the strength to go on and not to quit, because I know I owe this to her. Besides, I know that this effort will give me the possibility to help her some day. It is like a chain, you see? I tell you some other things about her: she calls me many times during the day to see if I’m okay; she is sad when I am feeling that way, and she is happy if I am; she suffers more than me when I have an exam, and is the first to ask me “cómo te fue?”; she is there for everything I need; etc, etc, etc, etc…the list is endless. I am not exaggerating. But I’m missing the most important thing: she gives me LOVE, and this is the best present I can give her everyday, because the Mother’s day is everyday.

Our drink

     It’s 5 o’clock in the afternoon. I prepare the mate, take some bran crackers, turn on the computer and sit down to think what to post in the blog, believing that it will be easy to decide what to write about. But it isn’t. Half an hour passes, and I am without a topic yet. Another half and I start getting nervous. “Ideas come to my head” I say, but nothing comes. I stare at my mate; how delicious, bitter and frothy it is today. I drink it and immediately prepare another one, even tastier than the previous. I gaze at it again, and wonder why I am looking at it. Maybe it’s because whenever I think, I fix my sight to one point, and today this point is the mate. I say to myself “this mate has been with me for a very long time, and it’s always next to me. Why not writing about it?” It’s something really important in our lives, at least in Argentina and in some other countries, so I believe it’s a good idea to take it as my muse. Therefore I say, “What does the mate mean for me?” Well, first of all, it’s what accompanies me when I’m alone, specially when I am studying, and it’s what keeps me awake when I’m really tired. It is also a sign of union, and a motive for gathering, as what we generally say when we ask a friend to visit us is: ¿Che, vamos a tomar unos mates? or ¿Cuàndo nos vamos a juntar a tomar unos mates?, and this is what we actually do when we get together somewhere. Besides, the mate is a drink we choose at any time of the day; in the morning we take some as breakfast, in the afternoon you receive some during classes, or wherever you are, and at night, as I already say, you can drink mate when you study in order not to fall asleep. It seems that we can not spend one day without drinking it, since it has become part of our lives and of our routine. It’s something that identifies us as Argentineans and it’s an important part of our tradition. It’s what we want foreigners to taste when they come here. It is ours, and as a result, it’s something we can share with our family and friends.

     What does the mate mean for you?

                                             

And everything without a word

The other day, I was really engaged reading a novel, when, suddenly, Sophia gave a decisive  jump to the table, made a careful inspection of everything there, and slowly dropped off to sleep. She rested her head in a very comfortable position on the corner of my novel, and placed her cotton soft paw on my hand. “Oh! What a clever cat!” I said. Of course I was going to take her out to go on with the story, when she exclaimed: “Don’t you dare move me from where I am, and don’t you even consider shifting your hand from there!” I was really astonished since I was extremely sure cats didn’t speak and, besides, she was sleeping! “I’m not sleeping” she miaowed, “YOU are! Don’t you think that you’re spending so much time with your eyes closed? Yes, yes, YOU. I’m not the one that is not seeing, it’s you! Don’t you realize that you’re not seeing me? You just take into account the fact that I exist, that I’m part of your world, that I sleep, eat, etc, etc, but you’re not really seeing me. You’re just living in a box, surrounded by four walls that don’t let you open your eyes, and you’re not clever enough so as to become aware that there are many important things to enjoy outside”. As an improvised answer for all these sad truths, I came out with something like: “Yes my darling, you’re right… The thing is that I cannot stop. I have to finish reading this novel, because then I have to continue with other thing, and then with another…and another..”. After that she got even angrier at me and growled: “Yes! But none of these things includes me! Oh, come on! I’m not asking you hours, I just want some minutes of your company. I’m pleading you to STOP! Please, enjoy my beauty, contemplate me, stroke me, feel my love, and give me some time to demonstrate you that I can offer you all the strength you need to continue with…your daily routine.” When she delivered these last words, all the angriness was gone and just a heartbreaking tone of disillusionment accompanied them. I couldn’t do more than embracing her and giving her thanks for this unforgettable lesson.

Valuing Life

Look at these two women! Do you know what they are doing? Not only are they caring about their own bodies and enjoying a healthy life, but they are also trying to persuade others to follow their example. They are not forcing anyone into something they don’t want, they are just suggesting a different lifestyle that is possible and that makes you feel better in some way. Sometimes, we don’t pay attention to what we do, and we just act in a certain way because society has imposed that to us or because the others do the same, and we don’t stop to think that maybe we are wrong, or that we could do something different. The thing is that it takes just a decision and a little effort, for those who love eating meat, to save the life of beings that, although they can not think, they surely feel. They feel pain, they feel fear, and they perceive that they are going to be killed, just as we would in that situation. If you cannot see that in the same way than me, at least consider the harmful effects that eating meat can have on your body, such as cancer (because of the toxins that are created in our body as a result of the ingestion of meat), cardiovascular disorders including heart attacks (due to the high quantity of fat in the arteries), cholesterol, etc. And, if these reasons are not enough to convince you to give vegetarianism a try, just think that we aren’t superior to animals, we’re just the same. Or is it that we have the right to kill them just because they are irrational? Imagine (although it’s unreal) if some day a race superior to us comes to the world, and tries to eat us because we’re inferior….would you accept it? I wouldn`t!!!

 This photograph really called my attention because, even though I always try to talk about vegetarianism and its advantages with my friends and family, I never thought of doing it in such a public and broad way. Anyway, there must be other ways of divulging it rather than exposing the body. Well, what matters is the intention, doesn’t it?

"I think the changes and purifying effects that a vegetarian diet has on a human being's disposition are quite beneficial to mankind. Therefore, it is both auspicious and peaceful for people to choose vegetarianism.” Albert Einstein

Just think about it! Let’s open our mind to something different!

Photograph taken from: www.digital-photo.com.au