Tuesday, January 04, 2022

On A Sparrow And People

 During the earlier aforementioned Cold Snap, The Ravishing Mrs. TB came in from chasing Poppy The Brave around the backyard.  "There is a bird on the ground outside she found" she said.

I got my shoes on and went outside, pushing Poppy back in the house.  The morning was bracing and sunny 23 F/-5 C before wind chill (14 F/-10 C) and thanks to our recent bout of sunny good weather, the grass was full and hard to see anything other than grass and leaves.  Finally The Ravishing Mrs. TB knocked on the window and started directing me via hand signals to where I was supposed to go.

There is was.  A little sparrow on the ground, breathing heavily.

Of course I brought it inside and put it into box with food and water in the garage.

There is no sensible reason for this of course; most wildlife that is injured and lets one pick it up is going to die.  But there I am out there, making sure that birds and small rodents are somehow out of the sun/wind/heat/cold in their last moments.

Occasionally I "win", of course - I have found turtles crossing the road that I have been able to move to a stream or pond and the stunned bird from hitting the glass that comes to and flies away, or the squirrel that Poppy almost gets (but not quite) and makes it out.  But most of the time, it ends the way the natural world ends - as it did this time:  The bird got out of the box and into the garage (so it could fly, which was a good thing).  I captured it (imagining trying to explain how there was a bird loose in the garage) and relocated into different container with food and water; it expired sometime after that.

I buried it around the house, which has become a sort of animal graveyard with the number of pets and other animals that have been interred here:  beyond our own rabbits and guinea pigs and quail, there are squirrels and rabbits and mice and birds and the cat I found during the time A could not be found and I thought the cat on the side of road was him.

I was pondering all of this as I was - again - digging a grave on the side of the house - and found myself asking the question "Why do I care so much more about animals than I do about people?"

I say "caring about people" in the most fundamental sense, as Scripture in this case is both clear on both sides of the issue.  On the one hand, the prophets, Christ, and the apostles were pretty clear on the fact that part of charity was indeed caring for the poor (clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, etc.).  At the same time, there is also an expectation from the prophets, Christ, and the apostles that everyone - or at least every Christian, so perhaps that is a difference - is responsible in so much as they are able, to provide for their own food, clothing, and shelter.

This is not meant to be a mediation on homelessness, its causes, or its resolutions - which are far beyond the scope of this thought exercise. It is meant to be a mediation on how I reflect differently on the care of animals and people that suddenly cross my path in need.

If I consider it deeply, what I find is that - at least in my own mind - the animals simply have no-one else:  no-one else to make sure that in some way they do not die completely alone or uncared for, that their last moments are at least peaceful as much as possible.  They can do nothing other than be.

People have a choice, I tell myself (although in some ways due to circumstances, "choice" is perhaps not the best word - mental illness and addiction are real things).  But even their choice does not change what the commands of Scripture are to me; ultimately I will be judged on what I did with the Word of God, not what others did.

Or perhaps it is simply that caring for animal in its last moments or afterwards is a short term commitment: I am not contributing to a longer term solution, but neither am I potentially enabling behavior that needs not to be enabled.   I am doing what needs to be done in the moment.

I finished burying the bird and went back to go about my day, resolving nothing in my mind at all other than noting what seemed to be a rather large discrepancy in how I viewed two sets of beings, one related to me by species and one related to me not at all.  

I wonder - and here I am on shaky ground perhaps - if "caring" for one group versus the other is really just another form of spiritual gift?  Yes, we are all commanded to be charitable, but we are also all commanded to pray and fast and evangelize; some of us have the heart and gift and others of us just stumble through our prayers and give where we can.  But if there is a  real heart for prayer or charity, could there not also be a heart for the natural world around us and those that live in it?

Francis of Assisi, it is said, preached to the birds.  That I am aware of, no-one considered him uncharitable to men or beasts.


(St. Francis Preaching to the Birds; Master of Saint Francis circa 1250-1280 A.D.)




18 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:14 AM

    Empathy is a gift and curse. The downside of is having feelings that you wish you could have done more for the creature, even repairing / curing so that the animal could continue to live. Taking an injured animal out of harm's way and helping its circumstances is enough. What will be will be.

    We drive by the carcasses of animals impacting traffic on the road. We emphathize more with traditional house pets (i.e. dogs - cats) and instantly feel a bond of responsibility, wishing the owner had prevented this from happening. Wild animals, not as much, perhaps curiosity even (you don't see many skunks around these parts any more ...).

    I don't think Mercy isn't taught as much as it used to be. Too busy and have things to do rather than stopping and trying helping. On the other hand, we also videos of people going to heroic lengths to save an animal. That person who retrieved a nearly drowned puppy suing a net - wow. And people who attempt to save birds in snow storms counts too.

    You are a good person to have these thoughts and commit these actions.

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    1. Anonymous - Thank you for commenting. Would it surprise you that I do not feel particularly empathetic? Or maybe that is just that I prefer animals and "empathy" seems to be more directed at people in modern parlance.

      I am actually one of the people that sighs when I see the roadside carcasses. Yes, I know not every such event is avoidable, but I also know that many drive far more quickly than they need to, sacrificing their need to be somewhere for being a bit more careful.

      I would agree with you that Mercy is not taught as much as it used to be. It is worthy of some thought why this is not so (he said, making a note). I wonder if it is a combination of the rise of the individual as well as need for defined paths of mercy: Changing a tire on the side of the road can be an act of mercy. Not screaming at someone that they are an idiot in public can also be an act of mercy. One we applaud, one we think "Well, that is just good common sense."

      But we all still do seem to retain the ability to act on behalf of animals in a way we do not for humans.

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  2. Hi TB, I personally love that you are taking care of animals when they are ill and/or dying. The way I think of it, animals all have feelings, why wouldn't they? All I have to do is observe my pets. When I'm out all day, they are excited and happy to see me. When a beloved pet dies, the remaining pets seems depressed and insecure. Some species mate for life, and I think it's more than animal instinct. Holding a little bird or squirrel in your hands, with love and care, as they die, well, I admire you. I may be one of those people who has no qualms about saying I prefer the company of wildlife over human life. Nature has shown me more respect, love and comfort than any society, and I don't say that with pessimism!
    Though I'm not of your faith, I was brought up Catholic. And I was taught as a child that animals are God's creatures, so helping a turtle to safety is a very kind and mighty gesture! In my spirituality, animals are very sacred and I do what I can to help them all out - especially in the winter when they struggle, and if I see one in a dire situation.

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    1. Thanks Rain. They do have feelings - we can certainly see it at the rabbit shelter, when one of paired set of rabbits passes, the other is depressed. And in even though Nature can be incredibly cruel - "Old B&*^% Nature", as Gene Logsdon would call it - never once has it treated me without respect and probably without love (although picking thorns out of my hand hardly feels like an act of love!).

      The Ravishing Mrs. TB feeds the squirrels and birds every morning. I am not sure that they can convey their appreciation, but I suspect by their very presence they are thanking her.

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  3. Deut 23:24 suggests that you are on to something with regard to charity being a JATO boost.

    For those who are not familiar with the verse, a person may eat their fill of grapes in the vineyard but not fill their pockets for the next meal. THere is a parallel verse for wheat.

    On the flip side, the owner of the land must not harvest the corners of the grain field (easy to leave them if you are using a scythe) for the gleaners. Nor is the owner of the vineyard allowed to go back and pick the grapes that were under-ripe the first time his pickers went through and picked. Those are also for the gleaners.

    Nothing is said about EBT cards or Grub-hub delivering food to the receiver of the charity. THey have to go out and pick it.

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    1. ERJ - What a careful and thoughtful consideration. And it is not something that the New Testament ever (that I am aware of anyway) over-rules: Living quietly, work quietly, so you can feed your family and have something to give - This is something Paul commands.

      One wonders if - unlike Luther - the modern church has de-emphasized the value and dignity of work and providing for one's self and instead replaced it with charity as being above, not equal to.

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  4. With the rise of The American Prosperity Gospel, I wonder if folks just figure it's theirs to keep. That verse and concept that ERJ quotes showed that there was food AVAILABLE, but you still had to sweat for it. A gleaner was a poor person that showed up at harvest to get something to eat. Ruth gleaned in Boaz's fields.

    My one foray into Mexico as a short term missionary revealed a side of poverty I'd never seen before. The beggars MADE things to sell. They didn't just hold cardboard and look sad. They wove birds from ribbon... We had that hanging in our house for years. Sometimes I see the offer to work, but no evidence.

    My heart goes out to innocents (mostly children, some adults) and some animals. My only thought for a carcass is if it's in the dirt or not. Growing up on the farm, animals had uses and if they weren't useful, they were dispatched.

    But the character of the Father will be in His children. And He sees every sparrow that falls in His creation. And so do you, in the garden you tend.

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    1. STxAR, I will say that was something that we did see some of, even in Costa Rica in the capital city. And in the smaller tourist towns, there was a great consciousness that tourism had just started not all that long ago. By contrast, most - certainly not all - of the requested charity I seem to encounter here in a large urban area is "Give".

      I know that the two older children, when they came back from a short term mission in Costa Rica, had a very different view of poverty.

      The only (I guess) benefit about a road carcasses is that the buzzards eat well.

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  5. I read your question, "Why do I care so much more about animals than I do about people?" and my brain stomped on the reading brake pedal with both imaginary feet and yelled out, "Choice! People can make choices!"
    Then I went ahead.
    Much as you said, there may be little to no choices left at some point in a person or persons life, but each day gives the option for choice and the path ahead begins with choices.

    As Anonymous said, empathy is both a curse and a blessing. I believe that judging the correct dose of empathy is challenging.




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    1. That is fair John - I do make a choice. In this case, I have to say engaging with animals is much easier than engaging with people.

      We have a bit of experience in our extended family with addiction. In our case, my sister in law got her life back together again with the help of Narcotics Anonymous - but that was a choice, and every day remaining of her life is a choice to remain clean. Perhaps differently said, maybe we do not encourage people enough that they can still make choices?

      Agreed that the correct level of empathy can be challenging - with people. I almost never misjudge animals.

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  6. I suspect I may have told you this story before but way back in college, I volunteered at an owl and raptor rehabilitation facility on weekends. It filled up needed time and was neat being up close and personal to birds I rarely can get up close and personal too. Anyway, about once a month somebody brought in some baby birds that had fallen out of nests or baby rabbits "abandoned" by their mother, etc. asking us to take care of them. We had no way to do so and knew that their ultimate fate would be a slow death of dehydration and starvation and so we adopted the policy of assuring the people that we would do our best. When the people left, we would feed them to the owls and raptors and thus save money on the food bill.

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    1. Ed, I do not think have - but I am not surprised. In point of fact most animals from the wild will not survive. One of my Great Aunt's once found an injured owl and nursed it back to health, but that is about the only personal example I know of.

      The other thing people do not remember is that Nature really is a "kill or be killed" environment and eventually everything is food for something else. We prefer Disney views of Nature, not the reality.

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  7. Sometimes the creatures just need a rest- I picked up a Merlin who hit my shop window and knocked herself cold. Put her in a box to keep the cats away, came back 15 minutes later and she looked at me imperiously and flew away in a huff. Hummingbirds fly inside the shop in the summer, when the doors are open, and exhaust themselves trying to exit though the screened windows. After a while they sit on the window sill and can be gently picked up in cupped hands and brought to freedom.

    And sometimes, there are wounded creatures where mercy demands a quick death. I hate it, but it does not seem right to let them suffer.

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    1. Raven, I have had the same experiences from time to time. Those, I suppose, buoy me along for trying again.

      For the quick death - yes, there is no benefit or use in needless suffering. That said, I struggle with this.

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  8. Anonymous12:58 PM

    Having been raised Catholic we have purgatory. I believe that all who abuse, abandon, dump animals goes there. Children no longer play outside and come across the misplaced turtle or injured rabbit. I can't begin to count the number my kids brought in. I've rarely been without an animal or 6 in my care. Mainly cats. dogs, turkeys and guinea hens. Everyone I've ever had has been a stray or rescue. And other than my children I have loved these animals that have brought so much job into my life much more than the average person. I'm down to 1 16 year old dog now that we got at a no kill shelter.
    Margi

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    1. Margi, Purgatory might be such a bad place to go.

      We have always had animals (literally) as long as I have been alive - mostly cats and dogs but also hamsters, gerbils, a parakeet, guinea pigs, rabbits, and quail. All of the current crop - one dog, one cat, two guinea pigs, three rabbits - are all rescues of one kind or another. They add to the budget of course, and also when we go away they have to be farmed out (it is almost another airplane ticket at this point), but I cannot imagine not having them.

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  9. Well said. Thankfully I'm surrounded by people better than me.

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    1. Thank you John.

      I, too, am surrounded by people better than me. It does take a bit of the pressure off of having to be a "people" person.

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