I'm sorry.

Every day I say "I'm sorry" in a prayer to non-human animals everywhere being used for humans. You could call it my "moment of zen". I try to imagine their pain, fear, anxiety, and sadness, it really helps put anything I'm going through in perspective.
I drove down to Charlottesville, VA from Pittsburgh last weekend. For 5 hours I passed fields full of cattle, lamas, goats, and horses. In the fields of cattle, babies suckled, they ate grass, many simply laid there basking in the sun. As serene as this was, it made my heart heavy and my eyes fill with tears. I said "I'm sorry" to each and every field we passed. To the field we passed with a barn that had "Eat Dairy" spray painted in large letters, I gave it the finger. How many omnivores pass theses fields and think "These are the cows I'm eating, their lives are gentle, and their death is humane"? Sometimes the fight for animal rights seems incredibly big and out of reach.
There are multiple images that have branded themselves in my brain since starting this journey. I added another one Saturday morning while passing a truck full of cattle. One large cow was turned looking out of the steel wall, I looked into his large brown eyes, he seemed worried but at the same time indifferent. Like he had excepted his fate, and knew it would be over soon. I said, "I'm sorry".