"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” - Gandhi

May our daily choices be a reflection of our deepest values, and may we use our voices

to speak for those who need us most. Those who have no voice. Those who have no choice.

May we as conscious human beings widen our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures,
and rise above ourselves by choosing compassion over convenience.

Slaughterhouses and animal factories are two of many signs of the extent to which our technological capacities have advanced faster than our ethics.

It's important to remember that the animals of the world exist for their own reasons;
they were not made for humans any more than blacks were made for whites, or women for men.

Animal protection isn’t a radical idea. It follows the simple principle that if animals feel pain, joy and fear, they should be protected from suffering.
Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.

To face animal suffering is to face our responsibility in their suffering. The future depends on what we do in the present.
It is up to each one of us to create the world we want to live in.

If not you, who? If not now, when?

There is some kind of a sweet innocence in being human - in not having to be just happy or just sad - in the nature of being able to be both broken and whole, at the same time

I often find myself much rather being dragged into someone else's fight, than to face what's waiting for me. I find the emotional pain of others, no matter how distressing, a little less painful to deal with than my own.

It has with time become some kind of a periodic survival strategy, I guess - to distract and distance myself from my own feelings. If I don't have the strength or guts to face my own inner demons, I channel my energy into assisting others dealing with theirs. When I know I'm not able to comfort or be strong for myself, I simply feel the need to compensate by using the coping tools I hold to comfort others, and be strong for them.

I think this kind of distraction is somehow typical for many of those who are experienced with the brutality of depression - when you know all too well what it's like to feel absolutely worthless, and you don't want any other human being to be feeling the horror of that mindstate.

We all have scars. I live for using my experience to support those who are going down the same road of destruction I once went down. I choose to allow my past to be worth more than the pain I'm carrying, as it can be used to comfort and give strength to another soul who's suffering. I choose to try focusing on cherishing my trials and tribulations as gifts; embracing these opportunities to share the life experience I've been given through my hardships.

What I need to get better at though, is showing myself the same understanding, the same comfort and patience when I'm struggling, as I show others. You'll never get anywhere by keep suppressing and beating yourself up. Speaking of; what's also important to remember is that you can not pour from an empty cup. You need to give to yourself first, in order to have something to offer others. Without some sort of balance in this department you will end up facing your own downfall.

The damage and invisible scars of emotional abuse are very difficult to heal, as the memories are deeply imprinted in our minds and hearts. It takes time and hard work to be restored. As human beings, we do not easily forget, but the imprints of past traumas does not mean you can't break out of the torturing path you've been thrown into.

The key is to allow ourselves to accept the pain. To allow ourselves to grieve and process in order to heal, to grow, and with time; let go. Pain is like water; it finds a way to push through any seal. There's no way to stop it. Sometimes you simply have to let yourself sink into the deep of it, before you can learn how to swim to the surface.

I recognize I still have a long way to go here; to accept that what's happened to me has happened, to accept and not suppress the pain it has caused, and recognize that it's absolutely natural to have been bruised by it - anything else would simply be inhuman. I need to learn not being so hard on myself, and remind myself that the fact that I'm experiencing periodic depression in light of what I've been through does not make me weak - it is rather my strength abling me to live with and fight through it that defines me. I am only human after all.

We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone

Av og til innser du hvor alene du egentlig er i verden. En verden hvor ingen virkelig kjenner deg

- hvor ingen kjenner til din sjels dype mørke, som alt i alt er en større del av hvem du er

enn de små lysglimtene du disiplinert eksponerer for omverdenen.

Som et slitent, bunnråttent trehus med et ferskt utendørs malingsstrøk
manipulerer du omgivelsene med polert eksteriør, men slipper ingen inn til det autentiske.

Utad er du kanskje omringet av mennesker
- innad omfavnes du av ensomhet i en mørk fangekjeller bare du kjenner til,
der ingen kan høre deg skrike.