On my mind this morning: I had to write this. It’s from my heart.

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you know I am a vegetarian and strong advocate for animal rights. This time of year makes me cringe, as it is hunting season. Every day I hear rifle shots in the distance. It makes me sick to my stomach. I hate it. Every time I see some local guy wearing camouflage clothing, I want to grab him and give him a piece of my mind, beg him to think of the animals who have a right to live along with us, and frankly, tell him there must be another way to prove his masculinity other than shooting an innocent creature. No one is this area has to hunt. Those days are long gone.

And do not tell me that hunters are doing the noble thing and saving deer from the agony of starvation, that they are helping to thin out the herds. Bull. No one who hunts does it for that reason.

I live my life from a simple premise. We are all equal. I’m not just talking about humans. I am not superior to any other animal. We are all creatures sharing this planet. What gives anyone the right to hunt another – whether human or animal?

And it’s not a fair fight. A rifle or a bow and arrow used to stalk and hunt a creature who has no defense, no equivalent weapon, does not a fair fight make. What’s noble about that? If you need to shoot a gun that much, go to a target range and fire away. Stay away from innocent animals.

Don doesn’t hunt. I wouldn’t be with him if he did.

If you ever want to hear me lose it – mention hunting, or bullying, or hurting children in any way, or harming any defenseless creature.

I could say so much more. My heart is heavy as I hear those rifle shots. I am haunted by the thought of those innocent creatures being killed for sport.

This may not be a popular post, but it is the way I feel. And you know that I write from my heart.

How I wish we were more evolved; that we lived with love and compassion for all living things. That we treated every living creature the way we want to be treated.