Big Miracle

(Artist credit:  Christian Lassen)

A couple of movies to share here that I have not yet seen, but am hearing rave reviews.

Dolphin Tale

Leaving aside the whole captivity issue, it's amazing what a coming-together of people can accomplish and the magic of compassion for another species.  I've got this movie on my Netflix list :-)

Big Miracle

This movie comes out next month on Feb 3rd, so check your local theaters.  It truly looks amazing and the synopsis of the plot is:

Based on the inspiring true story that captured the hearts of people across the world, the rescue adventure Big Miracle tells the amazing tale of a small town news reporter (John Krasinski) and a Greenpeace volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who are joined by rival world superpowers to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle. 

Here's the trailer (for email subscribers that may not see the image, please click on the link that will take you directly to the site.)  Link to trailer:  Big Miracle

In continuing along a similar vein in my previous post, I'm currently reading a book titled Kindred Spirits by Allen M. Schoen.  If you wonder if animals have feelings, here is an excerpt from this book I would like to share with you:

We have already seen that when animals experience fear, or love, or stress, they release the same emotion molecules as people do.  This emission has an impact on their physical, mental, and emotional well-being, as it does on ours.

Still, some skeptics argue that even if animals do have feelings, humans are the dominant species on the planet and animals are our subordinates - and that they should be treated as such.

This strikes me as a remarkably unjust attitude, both from a pragmatic and a spiritual perspective. (bold emphasis is mine)

For one, animals provide humankind with a remarkable range of benefits.  On one end of the spectrum, they are a primary food source for all nonvegetarians; on the other, they provide loving companionship and friendship.  Should we not also provide love and respect to them as well?  Do we truly want to think of ourselves as a species that only takes, but never gives?

And considering the fact that we all live on this one planet together in a delicate balance, taking care of the animals can be viewed as a means of taking care of ourselves.  If we pollute the environment, if we hurt other species, we are the ones who will ultimately suffer.  Destroying species that we may not consider directly relevant to our well-being may harm us in ways that we will discover only when it is too late, ways that could have potentially devastating effects on the survival of the planet, our only home.

(No copyright infringement intended.)

Just sayin' :-)

And a few words about Japan whaling.  While one can see the tides slowly turning on this issue, we still have quite a ways to go.  The part of me that remains optimistic that we'll see an end to whaling in the next few years battles that cynical part of me that is reminded of what Paul Watson once said:

"You know what the Japanese delegate Tadahiko Nakamura said to me at the 1997 IWC meeting in Monaco? He said he didn't care if all the whales died. He said his duty was to his family, his company, his country, and that it was his duty to harvest all the whales they could before they were all gone. 'Realize maximum profit from them before they go extinct' are the words he used."

That last line keeps me vigilant against this country's stance on continuing to kill whales and dolphins, regardless of their publicly stated excuses or reasons.

It's incumbent upon each of us to remember that we all share this home.  And that includes every single species on this planet, not just humans.  Imagine if everyone treated this planet with overwhelming love, compassion, kindness, and mutual respect, what an even more amazing world it would be.

Mahalo,

Dolphin