The day after Easter, and I order a chunk of grilled chicken breast on top of my mee siam. Which makes me wonder: could I ever give up eating meat? If I can't, does that mean that I am a hypocrite who gives lip service to the cause of the poor squealing pigs being led to the slaughter? Is it possible to feel for the sorry pig and desire meat at the same time?
Are we all vegetarians in heaven?
Why do Mondays breed in me such difficult questions?
I am up to two cups of coffee. There is a 20-cents-per-cup cappuccino machine in my office that I've grown awfully fond of. I watched this TV show that showed that if you have grown used to coffee, it doesn't actually stimulate you as much as you'd like to believe. True, if you suddenly stop drinking coffee tomorrow, you'll have a splitting headache and your attention would drop, but in two weeks you would be as good as new. But I like coffee. The way I like meat.
Anyway, on a totally different track, some of my kids are so angelic. Sometimes when I stand in front of the class and look at (some of) their bright-eyed faces (ignoring the rest), I want to sit them down and talk to them like King Solomon: enjoy the days of your youth! Before your teeth fall out, your hair grows white and your heart heavy with sorrow. And I'm not even that old yet.
I enjoy telling my kids that I'm twice as old as them. Haha! I said today, "I'm twice your age and you don't know what a wiki is?" Heh. I'm a show-off teacher. :)
Sorry about the rambly post. I blame the back-to-back classes and the 20-cents-per-cup cappicino. (It only dispenses half a cup: a kid's portion.)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Thoughts on the Monday after Easter
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5 comments:
I have been struggling with that question ever since I lost my faith. As a believer, eating meat was no dilemma since God created animals for humans to use and eat. As a non-believer, this question has come to bite me in the ass. But I can't stop eating meat, my body craves it. I feel weak if I don't eat any. I guess it is possible to feel sorry for animals and yet desire their meat. I think the best thing we can do is to keep in mind what the animal had to go through just to satiate us. We are part of the food chain, who knows in the future something might come along that is higher than us, we'll just have to accept the beauty of it when we become the prey.
Oh, I love kids too, especially teaching them. Even the fidgety ones without halos. Enjoy challenging them just that little bit and (ideally) seeing them rise to the challenge. But I've only done one-on-one so no idea what it's like to do your job.
Anon.. interesting that you should struggle with this question after losing your faith. Do you have a different faith now? A faith in the natural order of things? Curious, that's all.. I think sometimes Christians have pat answers for things, and so gloss over stuff.
You love kids, M? :) I don't know if I love them. Sometimes I wanna say "Aw.." but it isn't second nature.
mis_nomer, why should this issue be "interesting" for a non-believer? Is it because I am godless and therefore, I should feel nothing for the death of animals? It is strange that I care more about the world now when I am no longer obsessed with the afterlife.
I don't have any faith now but I guess I'm agnostic. You are right about the pat answers - my previous faith had countless of them. Unfortunately for me, I just can't gloss over them so that's what led me to this.
"mis_nomer, why should this issue be "interesting" for a non-believer? Is it because I am godless and therefore, I should feel nothing for the death of animals? "
No, I don't mean that at all. I find it interesting because theoretically, religion should make us more emphatic and compassionate; however, religion, like I mentioned in the earlier comment, sometimes "gives us pat answers" so that our conscience is clear. Like the God made animals for us to eat so that's that argument—then there is no need for any more thought. It is interesting that religion can be so numbing in that sense.
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