Today I'm taking my granddaughter to a cat and dog shelter where my friend volunteers. She will be so happy. She's been wanting to go for a long time. She wants to be a cat and dog trainer when she grows up. She's also begun piano lessons, so she will have flexibility. My problem with going to the shelter is wanting to take home most of the animals. However, this place is so well maintained and the animals so well taken care of that not too much guilt arises. Most animals get homes pretty quickly, according to my friend. And there is a no kill policy, so they have a home at the shelter at least for the rest of their lives. My granddaughter has made a blanket and pillow for the animals. It's pretty sweet.
The film "Samsara" last night was gorgeous to watch, and disturbing too. Not just beautiful images, but death, poverty, bad treatment of animals - the entire gamut of life on earth. And yes, I was left with the sense of the ocean of suffering that this life can be. When there are people, they often stare at the photographer, so the viewer is always aware that this is one moment, an invasion of privacy, and these people have given permission to be seen, really seen. They look directly at us. They become us, because even if they are naked and covered in mud and paint and feathers, the eyes, the eyes. They insist on our common humanity. I will not forget some of the images, so powerful, so profound.
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