Somewhere along the way, I heard the expression “holy cow bells!” and I started writing it too, but then, as my vegan journey evolved, I realized that language matters, and it probably is not good to endorse putting bells on cows. So I developed an alternative exclamatory phrase: “Holy Coconut Shells!” (This is in alignment with my suggestion, in my book Vegan Ramayana, to replace dairy products with coconut milk products.)
Studying the photos of cows wearing bells, they do not look very happy. I mean, it is not natural for them to wear heavy bells around their necks. They are sentient beings, which means they feel pain and happiness just like humans, and so those bells probably cause them discomfort. Thus, those bells definitely cannot be called ‘holy’.
And, adding insult to injury, many of the bells are strung, as in the photo with this post, on leather which is made out of cow suffering. So they are actually wearing the anguished energies of their slaughtered brothers and sisters around their necks. The grief this causes me is almost unbearable. Please, dear humans, stop buying animal leather!
Holy Coconut Shells, the Raging Twenties continue with global fire-cracking bangs. Literally. And those shells exploding in Ukraine are definitely not holy.
Since the war in Ukraine began, I have been feeling overwhelmed by all the suffering and killing on planet Earth. Perhaps I have what they call “compassion fatigue”…. So, this will be my last blog post for March, and I will take the month of April off from blogging in order to do some Spring cleaning in my mind. I need to nourish the positive and transform the negative in my thinking. I plan to refresh and regroup for the long haul ahead.
As an animal rights activist, it is so difficult to hold onto hope, knowing that the tipping point towards vegansim may not be reached in my lifetime. How to continue the work without despair?
My plan is to return to blogging on May 4th, International Respect for Chickens Day, and my intention will be to write with cheerfulness and with a happy mindset that celebrates the positive elements of veganism and animal sentience, whilst bringing awareness to the negative elements of cruelty and animal suffering.
With prayers for compassion to increase in humans,
Teja Ray
🥥✨♥️✨🥥✨♥️✨🥥✨♥️✨🥥✨♥️✨🥥
Cows with bells, original: pasja1000 on Pixabay.
