Many years ago I said to a group of friends that I thought it would be a good idea if the Christian Church locked up all its sacred scriptures for a thousand years. It would be interesting to see what would happen.

I revised that thought to include all the sacred scriptures of all religious institutions. That took it a step further.

Now, I would like to see all "ams", "itys", "isms" and "ists" banished to non-existence and have those who espouse them speak, hear, see, feel and act from their own experience. This would, of course, require an open mind. At present there are not many of those around.

The second thought is this: while lying in bed last night I had the occasion to hear several voices speaking. They were individual voices and I could tell to whom each of those voices belonged. And, because I know these individuals fairly well, I could tell what they were speaking about. They have taught me that. They are all individuals with their own needs and wants and desires. They are all different from one another. They are, however, related. Not all voices belong to humans. The voices I was listening to belonged to Ping, Gisli, Charlie, Rosie, Killi, Yeshe, and Yoda. They each were saying something different. Some of the other animals evidently were either listening to their friends or were not feeling the desire to speak. They remained silent!

Conclusion: anyone who thinks that he or she needs to "speak for those who cannot speak for themselves" is deluded. None of those humans (non human animals wouldn't be so presumptuous) are speaking for whom they profess to speak. They are speaking for themselves. Let's not continue our presumption. The biggest "ism" of all is egotism.

If you really count all beings as individuals; If you open your mind enough to really hear, see and feel; If you manage to put aside your own wants, you will see that we are ALL in this together and that we ALL have the same needs.

To the non-human animals this is just another day for being! Let's wholeheartedly join them!