Day 8: Strays

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to feel guilt when I see stray animals wandering the streets/community.

I forgive myself for not accepting and allowing myself to realize that I feel guilt because I know somewhere inside me that I am not doing everything in my power to help those who cannot help themselves because I would much rather exist within a bubble of happiness and rainbows.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to look away and attempt to block out the strays because I do not want to admit to myself that there is suffering in the world outside my bubble.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to look away from a stray that is lying dead next to the road in an attempt to escape reality.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to blame the animals for being strays, not realizing that as we have domesticated them they are unable to survive on their own, no less in developed areas where food is scarce and diseases are rampant.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to blame "poor people" for what I perceive as allowing their animals to exist in that state, without realizing that proper care requires money and very often so does education of how to care for animals.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to label myself an activist for joining animal rescue/awareness programs believing that these programs will change human nature, without realizing that these programs are merely treating a symptom of the greater human disease of self interest.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to think that "someone else" will "fix" the "stray problem", without realizing that we must all stand together to make a change.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to wait for "someone else to do it" before I will take any steps.

I commit myself to direct myself to participate in changing the world.

I commit myself to standing with and as each and every stray and to never again forget or look away.

I commit myself to do everything in my power to change our system so that strays will no longer wander the streets and so that each may live without shame and guilt.

I commit myself to bursting my bubble of comfort and seeing what is really happening in the world so that I may participate in changing it.