to kill or not to kill? that is the question.

[Diana]

"If you kill something, you end its current life (or incarnation). Agreed?"
i think if u kill something, you end its current life from your own point-of-view (& naturally from the point-of-view of others in ur current reality) but i think the killed being has the ability to carry on as if nothing happened while you (& others) get to perceive that u killed the being. i think something dying is something dying out of 1 reality (yours) & that there's an infinite amount of parallel realities. to me it's crazy to think u can have the power to mess w/ some1's plan & make something die b4 it's time. i read a story b4 about a kid that was at a basketball game who stepped out for a bit & got struck by lightning & while every1 else perceived that he went outside & got knocked out for a bit the kid perceived that nothing had happened & that he walked rite back inside & watched the end of the game & finished the day like normal.

Okay, I think I understand you know.

"Killing a homeless person to put them out of their misery is not respecting life."
unless of course the homeless person is actually in misery, bc of some incurable disease or something, & asked u if u could kill them bc they didn't have the guts to do it themselves or something like this.

My point was that you can't ask an insect, so you don't have any idea whether they want to die, or whether they are on their way to build a nest for their young, or whatever.

"Killing a spider in the house because someone thinks it's icky is not respecting life."
rite but then again u wouldn't be respecting the life of the person that thinks the spider's icky & should be killed rather than taken outside only to get inside yet again or worse if u didn't kill it. not more than a year ago, this elderly lady pointed out a biggish spider to me & the person i was w/ in a department store in a mall & the person i was w/ asked them if they wanted it dead (bc they were afraid of it) & they did want it killed & their decision was respected even tho i was standing there saying over & over "no! don't kill it! no! don't kill it! no! don't kill it!" i was angry the person i was w/ chose to respect the life of the elderly stranger over mine at 1st but then later i realized it didn't really matter & that i should just let it go...if the old lady really wanted it dead & couldn't see things from any other point of view then why shouldn't she be the life that gets respected, since i'm the one able to be flexible?

This is an example of "not taking responsibility." Why didn't you just walk over and say very nicely, "Oh, let me take care of that for you," and take the spider outside? I have done that at client's offices etc., and they are always amazed--amazed out of their paradigms.

Instead, you generated negative feelings of anger toward people who apparently don't have the awareness to know any different. You missed an opportunity here.

"Killing ants because the kitchen isn't kept clean is not respecting life (as soon as the kitchen is clean, ants will leave)."
some ppl like to the keep their environments messy. respecting life is allowing it to do w/e it wants to do. i can understand some1 being able to put w/ a mess but not ants & choosing to just kill the ants. sure u may be really respecting the ants by making all of ur food unreachable forevermore but in the mean time some1's own life could be getting disrespected bc they'd be forcing themselves to go about it in a way that they'd rather not. in other words, u're wrong again: killing ants bc the kitch isn't kept clean is not disrespecting life -- only from your point-of-view, & likely many others, but u're "not 100% sure of anything" so remember u can't kno that killing is disrespecting life. the kitchen ants could actually be the one infinite creator & could have actually incarnated knowing they'd be leaving by getting killed, mayb by some1 they like, in a messy kitchen.

Living in harmony and balance with the ecosystem requires some sort of cooperation and synergy. It's not disrespecting life to desire that humans are good caretakers of their environments so that all life may flourish, not just themselves.

"Killing snakes out of fear is not respecting life."
if some1 sees that there's snakes causing every1 to want to stay inside then u can bet some1's going to kill the snake & feel they're doing it in the name of jesus & out of a respect for the human lives around them. i've seen it happen b4. just try to remember u can't prove that killing life isn't respecting it...mayb the snake went out to where ppl would see it bc it was ready to be eaten like all of the rats it had eaten. i imagine there will be many funny stories to discover if we ever get to have some kind of time-travelling ability plus mind-reading ability to view history w/o altering it. i imagine the animals to have thoughts & i can see u being the character to go to great lengths to save some snake w/ the biggest death-wish imaginable.

I am not trying to save snakes or anything else. I am just not harming them.

The other stories you may hear then, according to many who have studied the subject of NDE, is a life review where you get to feel the feelings of all the beings from their points of view. And I'll head you off at the pass: that's not why I don't harm other beings.

"Dumping waste in the ocean and killing fish and dolphins and whales etc. is not respecting life."
natural disasters do a lot more killing than we could ever do. does god/nature not respect life? if life is getting disrespected then it's getting disrespected by life therefore by not allowing life to disrespect what it wants to disrespect would be disrespecting life by choosing to respect one life over another.

How are nature and natural disasters the same as humans deliberately creating oil rigs that spill and cause untold pain and suffering to innocent sea life and birds?

...but there r lots of ppl that just don't kno & i don't think they should have to. it's okay to exist in uncertainty.

I agree. Every life-form has the right to exist, and exist the way they desire.

"As far as stepping on ants: yes, this happens accidentally all the time. But think about it. Why? Humans have taken over animal habitats. We have invaded their spaces."
haha, if u say so.

Humans have taken over animal habitats.

"Do you mean killing it intentionally or accidentally?"
both. i believe "not my will but thine shall be done" so i think everything's perfect in that everything that happens is nothing but the will of the one infinite creator being fulfilled.

Put this way, your statement sounds like free license to do anything--kill, destroy, cause suffering--which of course, you do have. I am getting the feeling you are just a spectator in life--and that's fine.

"How can you know what another wants? Especially a life-form that can't tell you. Tell me by what process you ascertain this?"
that's exactly what i'm trying to say. u can't kno u're respecting life by choosing not to kill it. u can't kno what another wants -- esp a life-form that can't tell u -- so u shouldn't conduct urself as if u're 100% certain that everything clings to this life the way u do.

I don't cling to life. I only respect all beings as having the control over theirs.

the reason i now think the way i think is bc i don't like things to make me feel down so if i were to believe that killing life is disrespecting it then i would often find myself getting hurt bc most of the ppl around me r killers whose ways can't be changed. if i want to function how i want to function then i must believe that there is no disharmony & that everything happens as it's meant to in a dreamlike/movielike reality. please respect my life by not attempting to kill my beliefs & force yours on me as if u kno u're in the rite -- bc my beliefs leave me in pretty much constant ecstasy. i've been where u're at & i'm happier where i am now so this is my final word on this so if u disagree w/ something then let's just agree to disagree.

I understand you're feelings. You don't know where I am at all. If you have any desire to know where I'm coming from, read my wanderer story, Tentative Tentacles.

Certainly we can disagree. Contrary to what you think, I am not trying to force you to do anything. This is an open forum, and you posed the question.