Thoughts From A Mouthy Saint: Am I really a pacifist?

Thoughts From A Mouthy Saint:  Am I really a pacifist?
by: Colby Kluthe,  Editor-MetroEast NEWS

Almost without exception, every home I have lived in has been shared with a cat.  I tend to like that they cause significantly less stress than the care for a dog.  That being said, I was recently confronted with a situation that was really an entirely new problem.   I don't think I have ever really shared a dwelling with such a small and docile creature as who has recently made itself known to me.

The cutest little field mouse has managed to find a home within the walls of the house.   Confirmed first by the slow disappearance of dog food from the bowl, and most recently as it scampered across the floor of the sun room.  In fact, as long as I keep some food in the dogs bowl, I don't ever see the thing.

As I found myself adding food the bowl, when I knew the dogs were gone all weekend I realized I had perhaps crossed a long-traditionally held line between pest and pet.   As long as the Cat found such creatures and nature simply ran its course I would not be troubled by the short lifespan of "said mouse".  However, to actually go to the store and purchase a mousetrap, or calling the exterminator simply wasn't something I was prepared to do.

For many. life in Joplin Missouri means that we are all getting by however we can, and the countless birds left homeless after the storm, means you find comfort when you realize how resourceful even they have been over the past year.     

I cant help but think:  "We are all in this together"~  It is a point of view I think you inherit once you have spent any time in Joplin.

And furthermore what gives me any more right to live somewhere than another of wonder of creation?  Am I that much more important?   I think for now at least, the answer is no.  I think each of us can find ways to live together in ways we may not have expected.

Tonight, I yelled at the mouse like the dogs when they misbehave; only to see it turn tail and hideaway once again.  So I guess I am a pacifist... or mostly.   Hey nobody's perfect.

We are destined to fall short of the mark, like when I found myself going through the house smiting houseflies one after another as if all of creation was at my determination.   I have not yet reconciled how the two concepts meet one another but perhaps somewhere in the middle is where most of us find ourselves.   Do we act when we see injustices or do we simply press the SHARE button and move on?

I think each of us have an opportunity to make even a small difference to one little creature and if we continue listening to what we already know... we may begin to see the changes we seek.   I was recently told that Daniel (Daniel McCree Foundation) would say:
"Whatever Gurl , your a perfect being Just trying to make through a not so perfect world. "