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Tag: sheep

My Prayer for Humans on Behalf of Animals

My hope is that we can navigate through this world with the grace and integrity of those who most need our protection.

May we have the sense of humor and liveliness of the goats; may we have the maternal instincts and protective nature of the hens and the sassiness of the roosters.

May we have the gentleness and strength of the cattle and the wisdom, humility, and serenity of the donkeys.

May we appreciate the need for community as do the sheep and choose our companions as carefully as do the rabbits.

May we have the faithfulness and commitment to family of the geese, the adaptability and affability of the ducks.

May we have the intelligence, loyalty, and affection of the pigs and the inquisitiveness, sensitivity, and playfulness of the turkeys.

My hope is that we can learn from the animals what we need to become better people.

May it be so.

Please feel free to share this text, share any of the graphics on your social media pages, or print either version of the PDF. One is titled A Prayer for Humans; one is titled A Hope for Humans.

PDF: Prayer for Humans on Behalf of Animals

PDF: Hope for Humans on Behalf of Animals

Old English Pigs and Old French Pork: The Linguistic Cleaving of Animals

Roughly 10,000 new words entered the English language during the Norman occupation and assimilation, particularly those having to do with the world of the ruling class.

The effects of the linguistic class division are most apparent in the culinary realm, where words used by the aristocracy have French origins and words used by the commoners have Germanic origins.

This is evident even today in the way we talk about certain animals, particularly those typically eaten by Westerners, with words rooted in Anglo-Saxon / Old English to indicate the living animals and words rooted in Old French to indicate the slaughtered animal as flesh for consumption.