Respect For All Living Things

It's probably no surprise that I hold the belief that we should treat all living things with kindness and respect. I guess it kind of goes hand in hand with being an animal communicator and an empath. Yet I am still delighted when I receive a sweet little piece of confirmation that my approach is appreciated.

The other day, I was sitting at the kitchen table, working on the computer when I heard what sounded like yelling outside the house.  Kino heard it at the same time as me and began to bark. With his barking drowning out the commotion, I couldn't distinguish what the sounds were exactly so I got up to look out the kitchen window.

Much to my disappointment I saw three kids bothering a crow that was on my front lawn.  They were flapping their arms and lunging towards him aggressively, while yelling "Caw Caw."  When they got close to him, he flew up over my house.  I felt so bad for the crow.  I don't ever like to see anyone (human or animal) be teased or frightened and I knew I needed to say something . . . to the crow.

Walking out the front door, I got to the edge of the walkway where the driveway begins but couldn't see him anywhere. I had no idea if he was still around but I hoped that he would be able to hear me and began speaking to him.  I told him that I was very sorry he had been treated that way and I hoped he knew he was always welcome in my yard.

I questioned for a moment whether I was crazy or not, trying to talk to a crow that may be long gone but then I heard a sound above my head. When I looked at the top of the garage there he was, walking to the edge of the roof line so I could see him. He looked at me for a moment, with what felt like a complete recognition of what I had just said.  Telling him again that I was sorry about what happened, I reminded him that I appreciated his presence and hoped that he was ok.  After a few more seconds of eye contact, he turned around and flew off the roof of the garage.

Satisfied with the outcome, I went back inside the house and explained to Kino what had occurred. It made me realize how well the situation illustrated the very thing that many people have been grappling with lately - which is around the importance of focusing on what we CAN control.  I'm not going to lie - I DID have the thought that I'd like to run outside and yell at the kids for being unkind to the crow but I knew doing that was just going to create more negative energy and likely not change their behavior.  What I DID have control over was speaking to the crow and showing him some respect.  Coming from my heart in that conversation, the energy I put out was more positive and loving, which is an energy I would prefer to be in and around.

We all get to choose, in each moment, how we are going to react and respond to things.  Are we going to complain about what other people should be doing differently? or are we going to look at what is within OUR control at that moment. I'm certainly not perfect in my responses but I do know that each time I can respond from a place of love instead of judgement, I feel a whole lot better.