A dark Festival

Soon it's gonna be summer: on June 22nd we'll celebrate the victory of Light over darkness and this tormented Easter will come to fruition.

On that very same day another festivity is observed in the Chinese city of Yulin: dogs are stolen, gathered in cages, paraded around, tortured for hours in public and finally killed, then eaten. I can't describe it in words. There is something soeffortlessly evil about this that it makes me impossibly angry.

The Chinese authorities officially do not endorse the festival, they claim it as a local custom and effectively wash their hands. In fact, journalists and relevant figures from both the East and the West have criticized the hypocrisy of westerners opposing the festival “just because they're cute animals” and because “the west is obsessed with their dog culture”.

People participating have been asked why they do it, and the gratuitous, twisted pain they spend hours inflicting does not even constitute a thought for them. We're talking people in a metropolitan area, a modern city of almost 7 million people. Their answers vary, but they all sound generic and hollow, like a recording played through a mask.

They range from “dog meat is very nutritious”, “it keeps disease away”, “adrenaline makes the meat better”. “you can't stop me, I'm just selling this, they are the ones that want it”, “what right do you have to tell me it's wrong? I'm cooking meat. Do you not eat beef or chicken?”.

The point about vegetarianism is a layer to this, but here I would just like to bring our awareness to what's going on. The torture element and twisted disregard for life shown with such callous pride is overwhelming.

I can't explain it, there's something off here. Look at the timing, look at the relative lack of resonance and empathy that this generates – especially when animal activists or just animal lovers are usually so vocal.

And there's the dog: eternally faithful, unconditionally loving, always “in the moment”. In a sense they embody unconditional love, the God we believe in as lightworkers. They embody the season of fruition and presence and joy.

Where does that leave us as perpetrators or co-perpetrators? And what are we doing, focusing and ingesting the fear and dread of thousands of souls?

As Firefly we're gonna try our best to send love and energy to these animals. My heart becomes cold and jagged when I think about creatures so loving and vulnerable spending hours in pain and dying alone, terrified. Even as I write this, something in me shuts down from anger and horror. Something's going on, it feels like a strange ritual, and I hope by bringing awareness to this issue we may bring to Light some truth and love about this disgusting ceremony.

#animalrights #consciousness