Colors of the Wind

Red

I apologize for another late post! I've been sick and was too exhausted last night to get my head on straight. But here I am :)

Red! I searched high and low for something red that could have a message, and this is what I decided on. A net. In my house, if you see a spider or bee or something, you grab the net. Then you offer the insect a ride outside. This idea came from my brilliant mother :) Her inspiration was a story about Joseph Smith. In his own words:

“In pitching my tent we found three massasaugas or prairie rattlesnakes, which the brethren were about to kill, but I said, ‘Let them alone—don’t hurt them! How will the serpent ever lose his venom, while the servants of God possess the same disposition, and continue to make war upon it? Men must become harmless, before the brute creation; and when men lose their vicious dispositions and cease to destroy the animal race, the lion and the lamb can dwell together, and the sucking child can play with the serpent in safety.’ The brethren took the serpents carefully on sticks and carried them across the creek. I exhorted the brethren not to kill a serpent, bird, or an animal of any kind during our journey unless it became necessary in order to preserve ourselves from hunger.”

Of course, a spider isn't very similar to a snake, but the principle remains the same. If we treat animals as though they'll harm us, and if we harm them because of our fear, they'll live up to our expectations. I think the same goes for people, as well. If we treat them like outcasts, they'll act like outcasts. If we welcome them and love them, they'll see a different side of things, and things will be better for all of us. We need to love everyone - and, truly, every thing. Because they all have a purpose. To quote Colors of the Wind from the movie Pocahontas:

You think you own whatever land you land on

The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim

But I know every rock and tree and creature

Has a life, has a spirit, has a name

You think the only people who are people

Are the people who look and think like you

But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger

You'll learn things you never knew you never knew

Bonnie Gwyn