A Pure Mind, A Beautiful Life, by Shanice Lai

A Pure Mind, A Beautiful Life, by Shanice Lai For the first time, I took a serious look at the world around me. The grass, the dull expression of the people rushing to work, so engrossed in their thoughts that one lady almost tripped. What was in her mind, I pondered. Bills, taxes, unwashed linen or the disobedient maid? The last 23 years, my life has been mundane and routine. Just like many would complain their lives to be. Perhaps was spared only the first few years when I couldn’t remember as a baby and toddler! I skipped school, thrilled by a second glance from the cute tattooed guy on the motorbike, enjoyed every KFC meal, engaged in immorality, dissected insects for fun and what not. Utterly sad to admit that I had actually thrived on those activities… why not when they had seemingly made me “happy”? I would say life is indeed strange, or rather the word “miraculous” is more apt. My life turned around overnight. Yes, you did not read wrongly - Overnight. I do not have a long reformatory story to tell, I did not have an accident or a terminal disease that made me a vegetarian. What I have is a heart that was touched - unfortunately by sad pictures, and not joyful ones. They say, ‘A picture says a thousand words’, and I saw more than a few pictures. I chanced upon a website about animals being treated cruelly and I was taken on a journey of anguish and sadness. Photographs of dog eating in Korea, chicken/ducks/cows slaughterhouses, and gruesome pictures not for the faint-hearted, all splashed across my 17-inch monitor. From that moment on, I decided that my appetite for meat is and would be gone forever. Yes, it may sound so cliché. What I wish to emphasize is that such a decision is NOT usually made the FIRST time when one view such pictures. In fact, I do remember receiving forwarded emails of animal corpses’ pictures and the usual stuff. I am ashamed to admit that I had enjoyed those “disgusting” pictures most would shriek at. The decision might come when the time is right, perhaps when one is subconsciously and mentally prepared. Or it might never come at all! “Men and women are equal” – women, especially love to declare that. That is because we have the ability to express that, thanks to the structure and formation of our vocal chords (and our blessed knowledge of colloquial language). Animals don’t. Animals can’t. They can only reiterate the “sound” for us to differentiate when they are happy, sad, in pain, excited… which people (especially butchers) conveniently ignore. However, does that mean a chicken or cow’s life is worth lesser than a dog’s? Oh, so that dog is an expensive Irish Setter or the ever-cute Chihuahua. Understood. On the contrary, a chicken to most people means KFC or Kenny Rogers. Well, maybe Colonel Sanders have done a real good job, leaving behind a “legacy” which I personally don’t admire. The question is: Is meat really necessary? If your answer is yes, go yahoo.com and search under “vegetarianism”. If your answer is no, the next question is “Then why did you eat that whatever “kee” (Boon Tong Kee, Swee Kee, Loy Kee) Chicken Rice, just to name a few?” The above is merely used as an example, for I do not wish to recall other “household names” anymore. Most people answered me with the following retorts: 1. “Mind your own business” – This explains a self-denial of a wrongdoing. 2. “Those animals are meant for food wat, we need those nutrients!” – This explains ignorance (I actually got this answer from a student who read Pure Biology at A-Levels) 3. “I like it, so I eat them” – This explains greed and gluttony (both classified under the SEVEN sins – if you watched that movie starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman) 4. “But all my friends and family eat meat, then how?” – This explains the lack of individuality and independence, having the need to conform according to “norm”, peer pressure, fear of rejection and lacks a mind of their own. Or it could just be an excuse. 5. “Aiyah, not now lah, I have not enjoyed enough” – This explains procrastination, and lack of will power. Most often than not, this group of people know what’s right and wrong, but they find themselves unable to do it. 6. “Are you mad? (*Proceeds to feel your forehead), life is short, why torture yourself?” – No comments… let’s see who’s being tortured in the end. Animals are not commodities. Neither are they disposable goods that end up in the spring-cleaning list during Chinese New Year. It is disheartening that the world has become such an ugly place, just because of our whims and fancies. However, if you dropped tears when your pet dog was hurt and got admitted into the hospital, or you felt touched when your pet rushed to the door to greet you after a hard day’s work, you still have a heart. It’s wonderful because there’s so much we can do with just a bit of love left in our hearts. It is beyond our means to save every single life that is suffering this very second, but the least we can do is to stop killing them. When you are able to proclaim that you are vegetarian, trust me, you would be able to see that the world is more than death and taxes. What then, you would see, is for me to know and for you to find out. By Shanice Lai “The beautiful things on earth and beyond - are only for those who allow themselves to see it” – Shanice Lai, 2003 Top Back to VSS Column.