Immanuel Kant, a respected figure of modern philosophy, considered Compassion a weak and misguided sentiment: “Such benevolence is called soft-heartedness and should not occur at all among human beings,” he said. Unfortunately his thoughts continue to have a major influence in contemporary thinking even though the guy clearly must have been born with a huge biological deficiency: The G gene.

Human genes are made of bases, the nucleotides, which come in four types: A, T, C, and G, which again appear in combinations,  AA, AG or GG, the latter one being associated with empathy, positive emotions and sensitivity to the weaker links and the underdogs of society. People carrying the GG gene are believed to be more caring which reflects in their body language, such as smiling, loving gestures, head nodding,  eye contact and the willingness to listen. Furthermore a person’s hormonal balance and small differences in it can have far-reaching effects on empathy. This fact in itself should raise a gigantic red flag and opens another can of worms: Mankind’s mind boggling consumption of hormone loaded meat and dairies and all the misery that comes from and with it.

Friendliness (Metta)
Compassion (Caruna)
Appreciative Joy (Mudita)
Equanimity (Upekkha)

Meditators begin with cultivating loving-kindness towards themselves, then towards their loved ones, friends, strangers, enemies and all sentient beings, replacing negative and destructive emotions with positive ones. Ancient Buddhist collections of texts “Pali Canon” define the benefits of Loving-Kindness meditation (mettā bhāvanā) as followed:

Entering through the upper parking lot one is immediately captivated by the soothing sound of water coming from the court yard fountain, and the bright white Temple with the golden lotus flowers in sharp contrast to the deep blue sky, which visitors have a good chance for here in Southern California at most days of the year.

The sheer existence of what used to be Lake Santa Ynez can be seen as a co-production between men and Mother Nature. Extensive earth moving activities in the Santa Ynez Canyon, which used to be a silent movie production site of the then-famous Inceville motion-picture studio in the early 1920ies, were followed by water coming from nearby springs, quickly filling the basin, and bringing a halt to plans for future land development.

During the following 10 years the area remained untouched and more than a decade later the land, which meanwhile had turned into a forgotten swamp was purchased by H. Everett McElroy, assistant superin­tendent of construction for 20th Cen­tury Fox studios, and developed according to his vision of a unique private paradise, including the construction of a new residence situated across the McElroy's double-deck Mississippi-style houseboat which had been relocated from Lake Mead, followed by a boat deck with landing and a Dutch Windmill with a fifteen foot water wheel connected to an irrigation system.

And now the story becomes really fascinating.

The moment I entered the store a colorful scarf begged me to be allowed to come home with me - how could I not practice kindness and compassion at a place like this. I couldn't.

It was clear to see that she felt comfortable with us immediately but it took a few weeks until she could proudly hold up her tail during our walks. Since that day this gentle loving and always appreciative soul had been around me day and night, she was my daily walking partner and for some reason she liked people much more than other dogs even though people have not always been good to her before she came to us. I was the one in the family Lucky seemed to be most attached to, never wanting to go anywhere unless I too came along. Her nose was always busy, and in the later years her sense of smell seemed to increase while her eye sight started getting weaker. Our walks would have taken 4 times as long would I have waited for her to be done with smelling this bush, that corner, the flower bed or this tree. As it seems unusual for a female, she peed a million times during one walk, making her mark along the way. Lucky had been a traveler too and loved going to the mountains. We took her along on trips and people noticed how well behaved and quiet that dog was.

Last Fall Lucky started developing serious health issues and the vet told us that she would have only another 2 - 14 days to live. We took her back home and with the help of Lucky's grandmother's knowledge in Homeopathic healing practices Lucky got an extension in life and we were able to have her around longer than we thought possible. She started eating again, gained back weight and had 6 more month of quality life with us. She received Arnica montana D6, Apis mellifica D12 and Rhus toxicodendron D30 along with Homeopathic heart drops and a natural ginger like remedy for good digestion.

So, this morning I packed her into her red fuzzy doggie bed and together with my son we drove to the animal hospital. He had brought a gorgeous rose from his own garden with the most amazing smell. When I carried her into the building she had her head pressed to my chest and it seemed like she knew that this would be the last time she would see the sun on this side of life. Holding the rose close to Lucky's nose, embracing and constantly dropping kisses and tears on her head, Lucky crossed the rainbow bridge this morning at 11 am, peacefully and gentle, as the gentle dog that she had always been, leaving behind heavy hearts and so many beautiful memories of 12 years together.

As I miss her so much and always will, I look into another pair of affectionate eyes, Sam, our four-legged grandson and the next dog generation visiting, he wants to go for a stroll. Sam is just 9 month old but already three times Lucky's size and weight. So I take this handsome boy out for a walk through the nearby park. The breeze feels good in the heat of the afternoon and it reminds me of Lucky running with her ears flying in the wind, chasing cats, squirrels and birds, barking at skateboarders, bikers and anything noisy, and I find myself smiling.

Veganism is not a diet, it is not about loosing those stubborn 10 lbs that you wanted to get rid of for the longest time.
It is not a recipe for bringing your cholesterol level down so you can finally get the life insurance policy you are looking for, and it isn't the latest big thing either. And yet, it might be all of the above.

Veganism is the decision to take a step back, to think, to re-connect with Life and Nature, to express compassion with other living beings and with your own body.