Great Taste, Less Feeling. If I had to call myself religious in any way, shape, or form, I'd probably call myself a bad Buddhist. The thing that gets me most is that I just can't bring myself to stop eating meat. "If we weren't meant to eat animals, then why does meat taste so good??" However, I occasionally get that twinge of guilt cuz of that bit about respecting all life and whatnot. About two or three years ago though, inspired by the Native Americans, I decided to say a mini-prayer in my head whenever I eat meat- my Pagan variation of grace, I guess. "I thank the animal(s) that died that I may eat so well." ...it's usually goes something like that, and I imagine the animal as it would have been while alive.

And that all worked great for a couple years, but recently, I just don't feel like there's a whole lot of heart behind those words. It all feels like posturing. The words feel empty. And since I'm not actually saying the words aloud, I feel like I'm lying to myself. (Lie to the world all you want, but never lie to yourself.) Yet I can't bring myself to stop performing this ritual. The underlying intent is much more important than the physical action itself. Somewhere deep down, there's gotta still be some bit of sincerity left in the prayer. I just have to find it again.