People love a good rant, right? Well, I am hoping this is a good one!
By now you’ve heard of the tragic loss of Cecil the lion. Not only was he illegally shot, but also he suffered a long while prior to dying. Many of us find this incomprehensible. But, there are also those that struggle to understand why so many of us are so hurt and upset. This blog is for those people…
I will try to explain my sadness to you, even though to be honest, I don’t feel I have to. I am an individual whose ideals and lifestyle are not of the norm. So, I spent a lot of time frustrated with the way the world is, and the things that people support and believe in. BUT, even though I don’t understand, I am accepting of their choices.
In my lifetime I have always been passionate about helping animals. I had no urge to practice medicine, or nursing, or psychology. It doesn’t mean I am a people hater (although there is a certain dentist I have a great amount of disdain for), it just means it’s not what I am passionate about. If you love to help people – GREAT – I am a person and I may need you someday – but it’s not my jam.
Here are some examples of ways I don’t fit in:
- I don’t have kids. I am perfectly capable, I just made an informed decision and decided it wasn’t for me for reasons I know may not be understood by the masses, so I don’t share those reasons.
- I am not religious. I have beliefs, but they are not shared by most so I keep them to myself.
- I have lived with the same man for 15 years, but we are not married. (in the eyes of the church) Why? I would rather spend my money on trees and dog food than rings and decorations. And I am not religious, so it seems hypocritical to me.
- I am not a vegetarian, but I do make a considerable effort to eat only meat that was humanely raised and euthanized. Neither the vegetarians nor the meat eaters like this. LOL.
- I like to be alone. I am not a super social person, and I find an unusual amount of joy being just with my dogs in a secluded space where I hear nothing but birds. Crowded places make me anxious and uncomfortable. I talk to my dogs and my trees. Yes, yes I do. LOL.
- I understand and have compassion for animals, but get extremely confused about why people do what they do. And therefore, even though I am empathetic to a fault, I don’t go out of my way to help the “people” causes.
So as far as not being understood – I am pretty used to that. Most days I feel like I was born on the wrong planet. But, what I ask of you is what I have spent a lifetime doing for you… Can you please just accept that this is the way I am, and just let it go? You have kids, and that’s ok. You had a big wedding? Great – I’d love to see the photos! You go to church, fine by me. You don’t eat meat – yup, I think that’s awesome. You love the Stampede and rock concerts with lots of people? Cool, tell me how it went.
What I don’t need to hear one
more time is, “Why do people care so much about Cecil when there are so many PEOPLE suffering?” Or, “why do so many people care about this one lion when there are so many animals suffering in factory farms and puppy mills?” I am FULLY AWARE of those things, and they bother me too. A LOT. But, it is ok for me to get upset about Cecil. And frankly, a person cannot possibly digest all the suffering in this world at once. It would be crippling.
So, can you just accept that the death of Cecil ripped my heart out and made me embarrassed to be a human? You don’t have to know why, or understand it. Just accept it. After all, the last thing we need on this Earth are more uncaring, unethical people like Walter Palmer.
I am Holly Montgomery, and I am a pet photographer at BrindleBerry – Custom Pet Photography located in Calgary, Alberta Canada. I love animals, and I am passionate about helping them. And that’s…. O.K. 😉
