The brutal and senseless killing of Cecil the lion has evoked uproar in some places of the world. The hunter is a dentist. On the TV, I see people protest in front of his dental office. A few people hold signs with extreme hateful words such as 'Rot in Hell' to express their anger towards the killing of Cecil. The dentist has since closed his office, and goes into hiding with his family after receiving many death threats. He is facing the consequence of his merciless actions towards the animals. Spiritually speaking, he is going through a huge life lesson at this time. It is not just a lesson for him, but a lesson for many since some of us react strongly to what happens. In view of this, I would like to share with you a personal experience.
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During the restaurant years, we realized a few birds had taken up residence on our neon sign as we began to see bird droppings on the sidewalk regularly. There was not a lot of bird poop. The bird droppings were scattered near the outer edge of the sidewalk under the neon sign. They were not anywhere near the entrance of the restaurant. Nonetheless, it was an unsightly scene for some that noticed it. We often used water to wash the bird poop away. Still, with the birds living on the sign, we could not keep the sidewalk clean all the time.
My husband was already depressed because of the slow business. He saw the bird poop as part of the problem. One night after we closed up, he swung a thin strip of flexible plastic at the neon sign without telling me about it ahead of time. I realized he was trying to scare the birds so that they would reside somewhere else. We saw a couple of birds flew away. For a few days, the sidewalk was free of bird droppings, and my husband was elated.
However, it did not last. The birds returned. I could see the anger on my husband's face as he looked at the bird droppings. One night after closing up, my husband went outside with a ladder and a stick. I realized what he was going to do. I asked him not to do that because the stick might hurt the birds, and it might damage the neon sign too. He did not listen. We had turned off the sign, and most stores in the strip mall had closed. It was quite dark outside. As my husband was climbing up the ladder, I was relieved to see two birds flew away. The ladder was not high enough. My husband had to raise the stick in order to sweep the spaces between the letters on the neon sign. Some small sticks, leaves, and dirt fell onto the ground. He swept the sidewalk before we went home.
When we arrived at the restaurant the next morning, something caught my attention right away. In the corner of a wall and the window wall outside of the restaurant, there were two baby pigeons huddled under the mailbox! They were shivering in the cold morning air. I realized my husband must have destroyed their nest the night before. By instinct, these baby birds had probably moved behind the letters of the neon sign. With no nest, they eventually fell onto the ground since they did not know how to fly.
I went inside the restaurant to get a paper bag. Carefully, I scooped them into the bag. I was very sorry to see a small bloody wound on the head of one of the birds. The stick must have touched its head. I asked the angels to heal the bird. I put some water and rice inside the bag. I left them inside the bag to keep them warm. I knew they needed their parents, and their parents were probably anxiously looking for them. I wanted to keep them alive. I prayed for guidance.
There was a pile of leaves and sticks near the restaurant. When I felt it was warm enough, I put the birds on the leaves hoping the mom and dad pigeons would come and guide them away. I did not see any pigeon around the strip mall that day. There were only those small birds that I saw all the time. Later, thinking the bright sun might be too much for baby birds, I put them inside the bushes behind the gas station that was in front of our restaurant. I prayed for the angels to watch over them and bring their parents to them. I put water and rice inside the bushes. I checked on them every few hours. The baby birds clung to each other. They never ate or drank.
The next morning, I was very relieved that the baby birds were still alive. I saw a few pigeons in the sky. I was disappointed that none of them landed on the ground next to the bushes. Later that day, I was glad too see the baby birds began to wander inside the bushes. For the next couple of days, I checked on them regularly. They never wandered outside of the bushes. I gave them water and rice everyday, but it seemed they never touched them. I continued to pray for the reunion of this family.
One day, two pigeons were flying above me when I checked on the birds. After I came back to the restaurant, they landed on the ground by the bushes. The baby birds did not come out. Later, I was delighted to see four pigeons, two big and two small, were walking near the bushes. When the adult pigeons flew away, I went to look at the two small birds that were still on the ground. One of them had a scar on its head. The wound had healed. I was very grateful for the love of God.
The parent birds came to see the baby birds quite often. The baby pigeons stayed around that area. They still went into the bushes from time to time. Sometimes I put rice on the ground for their whole family. (I had not written down an account of what happened to the pigeons. When I wrote to here, I went online to see how long it took for the baby pigeons to learn how to fly. I read an interesting story with pictures showing how the pigeons laid eggs and raised their babies. When the baby birds were old enough, it was the father who would teach them how to fly.) I had to attend to the restaurant business. Therefore, I never saw the father pigeon taught the baby pigeons to fly. One day, I saw them walking and pecking on the rice. Then, all of a sudden, they flew away. I stood there in awe since I did not know the baby birds could fly. At that very moment, a thought came to me, "Through the Grace of Love, a karmic debt has been erased." Immediately, I knew there was truth in what came to me, and I was very grateful.
When I saw the baby birds shivering under the mailbox, there was only one thing in my mind. It was to take care of them and keep them alive so that they would reunite with their parents. For days, I prayed for help. I never thought about karma while watching over them. It was only after the thought came to me that I looked back at the whole episode.
When the baby birds fell off the neon sign, they could have fallen on the road where cars drove through or on the edge of the sidewalk. They must be very scared. I wondered how they ended up huddling in the corner of the walls that protected them from the cold night air. Did they walk all the way to the corner by themselves? Did someone put them there? I believed the loving angels and guides had played a part in protecting them.
According to the law of karma, there was an effect to every action we took. My husband might think he had the right to do what he did because he was protecting his place. However, good solution never came out of anger. The pigeons took up residence in the neon sign because they thought it was a good place to build a nest and raise a family. If we sought earnestly, we might find a better solution than scaring them, hurting them, and destroying their nest. In the law of karma, we had indeed done harm to the pigeons and incurred a karmic debt. It was through the Grace of Love that the baby birds reunited with their parents, and the karmic debt was erased.
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There is an old Chinese saying "To harm others is to harm ourselves; to benefit others is to benefit ourselves." This saying is in keeping with the law of cause and effect as well as the truth of oneness. I am familiar with Chinese words of wisdom because I am a Chinese. In truth, many quotes of wisdom are universal. People of different races or cultures have their own quotes of wisdom. The language / wording may be different, but the core meanings (i.e. the wisdom) are pretty much the same.
I share with you the above experience to show that it is easy for us to think we have the right to do what is good for us without thinking about the harm we may bring to the others. As human beings, sometimes we put ourselves above everything else. We do what we want to do with no regard / respect to the good / right of other living things. In the dentist case, he has been hunting and killing animals for pleasure for years. He kills Cecil so that he can keep Cecil's head as a trophy. It was cruel and senseless. If we change position with the animals, can we imagine, in this modern age, that others kill us so that they can make us their trophies?
Zimbabwe has lifted its hunting ban ten days after the death of the Cecil the lion. This is a materialistic world. Money that comes from tourism / the sport of hunting may have played a role in its government's decision. When we stand up for a good cause, sometimes we may be frustrated that the world never seems to change. However, when we stand up for a good cause, we have to have faith in what we do. Let the change begin with us. For instance, if we are against racism, we begin by treating everybody with love and respect. If we are against cruelty towards animals, we can donate money to organizations that protect them. We can teach our children loving kindness towards nature and other living things.
Before I continue, I would like to relate a story that I read in a book written by a known medium. In a big gathering facilitated by the medium, the spirits of three policemen came through to talk to their families. They died in a car accident. They told their families not to blame the couple who was in the other car. They told them it was an accident, and the couple was not at fault. They joyfully told their families that they had planned to go to the other side that way. They had done great wrong to this couple in another lifetime. In that lifetime, they were soldiers fighting in a foreign country. One day, they saw a young couple in a car. These soldiers were high on drug. They taunted the couple and set their car on fire. They watched them burnt to death. The spirits were happy that the karma between them and the couple was now neutralized. God or the Divine did not punish us. It was our spirits within that knew of no death sought to right the wrong we made (a matter of speech).
In the case of the killing of Cecil, we should be mindful of our reaction. To stand up for what is right in our hearts does not mean we have to look at the dentist with hatred or wishing harm on him. Two wrongs don't make a right. The Ascended Ones have taught us the importance of compassion and forgiveness. The dentist is going through an intensified life lesson. He and his family now live in fear that some people may do them harm. He may have incurred a big karmic debit for his merciless killing of animals. It is with hope that he understands how cruel his actions were, repents for what he has done, and tries to make up for his wrong actions the best he can for the rest of his life. It is never too late to change and center in love in what we do.
I would like to sign off with the simple guidance as how to live our life by the Light Being in my post Before 11/11/11 and After 11/11/11
- Do no harm to yourself and others,
- apply honesty and integrity in all that you do,
- and then find your personal joy while expressing gratitude
Many blessings,
Q of D
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