click here for background sound while reading…
Long, long, ago human beings caught hold of the ideas of ownership, and property, whether of the land, a cave, or animals or other people.
These fated ideas gradually led us into the world we live in today, where humans now assume the right to own and control all things.
One of the big differences between now and then is that our ownership today comes with much less gratitude and responsibility — in fact, almost none.
For the Australian Aborigines “ownership” had more to do with stewardship than possession. Theirs was a true ownership born of wisdom, awareness, surrender and a profound sense of care. Many aboriginal cultures the world over maintained their individual and cultural responsibilities through generations. They knew they belonged to this world. They knew the world did not belong to them. And they embraced great, and intimate, responsibilities toward, and in, the world.
Today’s philosophy of “punk ownership” is nothing less than sheer, brazen, self- entitlement, in a world now owned and controlled by frightened, angry, adolescent fools.
Ownership, in all its forms, and ways, including all our “points of view”, should always be available and open to inspection, consideration and question. Responsible humans, unafraid, are always willing to look into themselves, to inspect their own motives and actions.
Do we really own anything? Is ownership just a made up idea, a fantasy, an illusion? Is it a lie we tell ourselves and others?
Sooner or later life draws all of us to consider our egregious presumption that we have the unalienable right to own other beings, and things — to possess them.
The traditional Lakota Sioux never possessed the Bison of the great plains. They loved them, lived alongside them and saw the buffalo as spirit brothers. The Aborigines of the world regarded all animals, plants, natural forces, places, and all things, as sacred.
In Papua New Guinea my father encountered a remote tribe where theft was not even a concept. The idea of owning and possessing things didn’t yet exist for them. Theirs was a very different view of the world and life, possibly unchanged for hundreds of centuries, until Europeans arrived and required them to believe they were wrong.
So, now…
How do we own the dog?
How do we own the horse?
The cow? 
The tree?
How do we presume the right to control, breed and sell any living being or thing?
Why do we so readily economize and commodify them, disregarding who they really are?
How can we profess to love dogs, yet turn around to breed and sell them for our own profit? How can we love our horse yet force her under our will? How can we abandon our horses to slaughter when they no longer suit us or perform well enough?
If we don’t ask these questions of ourselves we are merely prisoners and slaves of a dying culture, consumed by an economy deeply and increasingly flawed in numberless ways.
Human slavery was once condoned at large. Many cultures have participated in it. In the 1830′s and 1860′s, both the British Empire and the United States legally abolished human slavery.
.
Now, 150 years on, we must ask about the morality of non-human slavery as well. Should they, too, not be free? Equally important, how can we free them responsibly? Many will still need our regard and care…
I invite you to consider, question and explore this matter, which is vital to who and what we are.
The enslavement of animals will one day come to an end. Our socio-economic system must be untied from its dependence upon animals. Medical, scientific and cosmetic research on animals must also end. The sooner the better.
Further to this, the core reasons for our prejudice against non-humans, as “less than” us, must be inspected, understood, and transcended at root in the awareness of our equality and unity with all beings and things…
.
Modern human slavery still goes on today, mostly hidden, but in some places it is still practiced relatively openly. Human slavery and the slavery of animals are inextricably tied together in life. Neither can be undone without the other also being freed. They are not different. They are the same.
To borrow from the great sages of all cultures ~ so long as any one or any thing is not free, no one is free. Everybody and every thing, is, all at once…
Loading...
Nancy on 
Ward on 
Pat Pippin on 
stuart on 
Nancy Alcorn on 
Michael on 
Joy on
Right on Stuart. Some day human’s will realize that animals have feelings too and should not be abused. They feel pain just as we do.
Thank you Stuart for this article and for all the attention you have on the animals of this world.
Lovely challenge to “one and all”
Very good article to come out at just this time of Not Two is Peace – very good and very appropriate – thanks Stuart
Great article Stuart – thanks. Perfect picture at the end.
“Righeous”?… remember, I’m the original “animal Killer”… ! My good side wrote this piece for my other side : )
Thank you Stuart for your words on ownership. Clearly Adi Da has taught you well. I really like your line about “Responsible humans, unafraid, are always willing to look into themselves, to inspect their own motives and actions.” For the sake of all beings, human and not, we must do this.
The ownership comes hand in hand with the I eat them part. “I eat them, therefore I need them so I must have them and therefore………….I own them.” I tried to picture everyone on the planet eating as a veggie because in my minds eye, they all got the picture. Unfortunately what popped into my mind was very efficient, perfectly balanced and massively produced, yes, you guessed it, LAB FOOD.
Bad but probably inevitable visual.
Nancy
Wonderful article Stuart. It grips my heart when I see how we treat our animals as if we own them. They feel just as deeply as any other living thing and they are so intuitive. My cat always enjoys sitting on my lap when I am meditating. I loved listening to the background music as I read the article.
There would be much less stress and anger in this world if people understood the concept of the big lie – we really don’t own anything. Everything is borrowed for a time.
We can all help preserve animals care and dignity by starting with the ones entrusted to us now.
Thanks for that, Stu. I live now with a cat who is quite clear about who owns whom. I’ll encourage him to read this article and see if it sets him straight…….although I doubt he has much sympathy with the dog.
Beautifully written & heartfelt – thankyou Stuart…
yes yes yes yes yes my brother thank you so much! I am making sure that other people read it. Peace and love and horses and camels. <3
So true. And as we are vacationing on the east coast I keep wanting to set the lobsters free that I see everywhere in the restaurants. Yesterday I read an article in the news where a man bought the 17 lb lobster from the restaurant and took it back out to sea and released it! He knew it had to be a very old lobster to be so large. Good news that made me very happy. We had reservations at a ‘sustainable organic farm to table’ restaurant I’d read about that was even featured on tv…we were so excited to eat there tonight in Maine, but last night I peeked at the menu online and was sad to see they are serving fois gras and veal. I cancelled the reservations. Not exactly the kind of ‘sustainable farming’ I had hoped to experience. Thanks for protecting the animals, Stuart!