Little observation: Ask, and I am sure a great majority of your friends will tell you that they do not agree with factory farming; or they will tell you that corporate greed has had a hand in our current financial situation.
At least I know that as much as I love meat, the main reason I managed to remain (mostly) vegetarian since 1994 was because I could not stomach (literally) eating meat that came from a factory farm, that was tainted by misery, bad feed, no sunlight and fresh air and hormones and antibiotics. If I can not find meat from an animal that has led at least as natural a life as possible, I will not eat it.
But here is where my observation lies; though most people will agree that corporate greed is one of the most pervasive evils and that they would not do that if they had the power, I see an interesting reflection in a totally fantastical and virtual world. Games.
I remember when I started playing Farmville, and now Cityville, given that power, I have not changed in how I play since I was a little girl. I always see it as my only chance to make that ideal world I imagine a reality. I always have sacrificed points, levels, whatnot, for the opportunity to make things right in a way that I can not do so in the real world.
In my imaginary and game farm, my animals roam; if there are fences, the gates are open, there are no crowds, no hoarding of anything! And, yes, it has taken me over a year to reach high levels, but with the pleasure that I did it my way.
In my imaginary city, there is also space, and paths and freedom. I have sacrificed "winning" (because in these games, much like life, there is no definite finish line anyway) or leveling quickly or getting imaginary wealth for the pleasure of making my little make believe world.
So I am surprised by how many people I know, who in real life may not "be" that way, become hoarders, crowding and piling everything for the sake of leveling quickly, of making points and money. I KNOW, I know this is a game, but it only leaves me wondering, just how many, if they had the power, would do exactly the same thing that those in power have done for so long: hoarding animals, people, sacrificing space and freedom and beauty for money.
Remember, there really is no defined finish line, or winning, just like life, you play until you play no more. Enjoy.

My dream this morning: I find myself in a world that is falling apart. Like one big special effect, rocks and trees and structures crumbling away into space. What look like ancient greek buildings bursting into flames and crumbling, ashes and fire dispersing into nothingness. All around me people in panic, mostly people running forward because if you stay in one spot,or run the wrong way you will find yourself "standing" on nothing.
They say not everyone dreams in color, but I recall the reds, yellows and oranges of the fire coming from beneath and eating the world. The browns of the dry earth beneath me....
I started to run forward, no panic, I actually felt like I was running on a treadmill since the earth seemed to be getting sucked up behind me.
I ran past people and the hot fires. I kept running until I got ahead of the chaos. I even thought, if I run enough, will I eventually make it all the way around? Will it be the end or the beginning?
Then I arrived at what looked like a temple with dark brown men wearing low slung burnt orange robes. I ran past them though, until I reached a shallow pool and then a rock wall.
The hermits or monks told me to stop. "Do not go over that wall" they all came after me to stop me but would not touch me.
"Why?"
"It's the end of the world" they said, looking at me and toward the wall.
I started to climb it. "I have come this far," I said "I may as well keep going, I want to see what is at the end of the world!"
And I woke up. 4:30am, hot because no matter what the thermostat says, our heater ALWAYS seems to kick on at 4:00am and run for an hour, even when it's set at 62F!! I was hot, dry, and thirsty.
I did not get to see the end of the world.

Life Sucks and Then You Die
How many times have we heard this? I know I have heard it and hardly ever used it and sort of sometimes felt it was so. Then this morning I just knew it is true.

As I walk around the park I get to this area where for some reason, a set of three or four trees seem to be the breeding ground for these small black fuzzy caterpillars. These caterpillars all mill around a small 50ft area of the dirt path, and to see all the ones that get squished is impressive. More squished caterpillars than live ones, I mince my way from clear spot to clear spot, trying to avoid stepping on them, and I check the soles of my shoes at the end to see if I stepped on one or not (I may be a poor Buddhist in many ways but on this one thing I seem to be OK, haha).

Life Sucks and then you die, because how many of those tiny wandering caterpillars make it? Such a blink of an eye brief life and in that brief life: make it down the tree, cross the dirt path, crawl 50ft and go up the other tree and meet up or do whatever fuzzy black caterpillars do. Seems pretty simple and yet so full of hardship, pain, and senseless tragedy. So many didn't make it. And what were the odds that during this brief week of fuzzy black caterpillar migration, the park people decide to spread fresh dirt on the dirt path, thus squashing even more of the lucky ones that had not been stepped on or run over.

Makes me wonder is there a god or gods? Maybe they are there, like me, watching this and wanting to help but not knowing how to because I don't speak caterpillar. I want to pick them up and help them across that treacherous perilous road, but I don't really know where they are going. What if I just take it back the way it had come from and now it has to do it all over again thus once more increasing its chance of being flattened by a tennis shoe? So I watch from above as they inch their way to who knows where on what errand I don't know. Is that what is really happening? Some god above watching us and all the horrible things that happen but it doesn't understand us and doesn't know if meddling would mean help or hindrance?
I suspect that it is possible, just possible that in that chain of weak to strong, there are those aching to help but just not knowing how and often instead of helping they end up hurting.
And so all I can do is avoid stepping on them, check my shoes, and keep walking my circles around the park until the next time I pass by.