It's impossible to say "nothing has changed..."

A conversation with my dear friend this morning began with her saying "I don't know what's wrong with me. Nothing has changed in my life but I woke up feeling so depressed." I lovingly pointed out that, actually, something has changed in her life, and that something was the terrorist attacks last week in France.We are ALL CONNECTED. (Sorry for the all-caps, but sometimes it's necessary). Somewhere, several tens of thousands of animals are likely being slaughtered horribly as we speak. Somewhere, in the depths of the ocean, a turtle is choking on a snarl of plastic Wal-Mart bags. Somewhere, in some derelict rural lot, a swarm of ants is being set on fire by a group of misguided boys. Somewhere, a girl-child is being sold into slavery because her family has to choose between food and her. So she becomes someone else's food. I'm not trying to be a downer here, but it's important to remember that until ALL BEINGS are free from suffering, none of us will be free from suffering, because we are those all-belngs. I invite you to pray that everything and everyone--including the perpetrators--be free from suffering and that all beings experience peace and happiness.