Honoring Cecil: Compassion for The Compassionless

The killing of Cecil the lion is despicable in every way. While killing an animal for sport is tantamount to murder, it doesn't justify the expression of hate and threats of violence made against the hunter that have followed. Doing so only reveals equal depravity on the part of the responders.

Difficult as it may be for those who love and care for the creatures with whom we share this small planet, there remains only one way to respond. We need to be able to look past the act and see the human being behind it - one who needs our help finding his basic connection to life on earth. Spiritual teachers tell us that evil can't be overcome with evil; it just causes even deeper entrenchment.

How many of us who now feel a bond with other living things were once guilty of seeing animals as commodities, existing solely for our exploitation? By grace, our eyes have opened.

While mourning the loss of Cecil, let us honor his noble life by extending compassion and empathy to those who have not yet attained that level of consciousness. It's the only way to enable the kind of growth that brings deep and lasting change.

-REN