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In Honor of Harley the Hog, It’s Time to End Factory Farming

Today I take heavy thoughts, and embrace them in light and the possibility of a future filled with compassion and healing for animals….

Today I remember Harley, a beautiful hog who lived at BrightHaven and brought joy and light to my life, my daughter’s life, and the lives of so many visitors and Reiki students who met him. He was gentle and kind, affectionate and silly, and met his physical challenges (he lost the use of his hind end the last 4 years of his life) with grace and acceptance.

I’m thinking of Harley today because of the news about our factory farming practices right now and the suffering of the millions of pigs in this industry today. May each beautiful pig be comforted and may they be embraced by the energy of love and kindness from those who care.

We can see also that it’s an industry that doesn’t honor humans either, and many people – workers, farmers – are suffering as well.

Now that the pandemic has brought our dark human practice into the light of day more than ever, we should no longer look away and we should sit for a moment with the knowledge that something is very wrong here. And we should have the courage to let it sink in…

An Opportunity to Move Forward

We have an opportunity to ask ourselves, is this how we want to continue to move forward into our future? Is this the legacy of human/animal relationship that we want to leave to our children? Is this the footprint we want to leave on this earth? Is preference and convenience worth building factories of human and animal suffering?

These are questions that we’ll each have to answer for ourselves. We’ll do so consciously because we can no longer hide the truth of factory farming practices. Today, more than ever before, we as thoughtful, creative and compassionate humans have the power to create lasting change. I wonder, will we choose to do so?

For me, I remember Harley and I know that each and every pig has sensitivity, intelligence and emotions. They create bonds and friendships, they have the desire to be healthy and happy and, like all of us, they have a strong will to live. I ask myself, what can I do for his kind to honor his memory and thank him for the kindness he showed in his life?

As a human being, possessing more power in society than any animal, I owe it to animals to use my voice to help the voiceless. I am grateful for this special friendship that I had with Harley, a friendship that helped make me who I am today. [bctt tweet=”Perhaps after this pandemic is over, we as a society will care more about these things than we did before. Perhaps we’ll realize that we’re all sharing the same planet and we’re here to help each other.” username=”ARS_animalreiki”]

And so with the help of Harley, I infuse the darkness with light, and keep hope alive that now is the time for change. Perhaps after this pandemic is over, we as a society will care more about these things than we did before. Perhaps we’ll realize that we’re all sharing the same planet and we’re here to help each other. Perhaps we’ll seek to heal our relationships with each other as well as other species. I hope so…

CLICK HERE to check out Harley enjoying an Animal Reiki session. Learn the ethical blueprint for always letting animals lead Reiki sessions through the Animals Should Always Lead Reiki on-demand video course.

Blessings,

Kathleen Prasad
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