Passion: Part 1

Aleyciuss Al-Ali:  "Mommy I Want To Save The World"

Ask anyone who knew me when I was a kid (even now), my family always had a pet, usually a member of the canine species. One summer day while doing my normal activities such as playing with my dolls or hanging around on the front porch with some of the neighborhood kids, I heard a commotion coming from the rear of the house. I ran around the driveway of our modest 1 level home to see what was going on and low and behold, all of the members of our household where crowded around the small dog house in the backyard. Our dog had just recently given birth to a litter of puppies, of which I did participate in taking care of to some degree, but in all honesty, I really didn't pay an extravagant amount of attention to, being that they were so young and under the constant care of their mother.

"She chewed off the mouths of her own babies", I heard my sister say, as I peered around the legs of my mother and others standing there talking. They had separated our dog from her pups, as she had already killed a couple of her babies before anyone had gotten there. "When I caught her doing it, the other puppies were huddled in a corner crying out", someone else said.

Strange I thought, up until that point I had always believed that mothers were supposed to protect their young from danger, not be the danger? My young and inexperienced mind could not understand the biology behind the situation, that maybe the puppies were sick beyond repair and the mother could sense it? Or maybe her instincts told her that there weren't enough resources to feed all of them sufficiently, so she chose the strongest to care for? Whatever her reasons, what I did realize in that moment changed the course of my life forever. I now believed that no matter what, even when you have parents and those who love you, "Everyone Needs To Be Protected". So, from that point on, I made it a goal to protect every puppy (our dogs were quite promiscuous, lol) we had. I would feed and water the mother, play with her a bit, and take the puppies for the day. Neighbors who took notice, would give me money, medical know how, and supplies such as bottles, blankets, and formula, to care for my new companions. I learned the best that I could about how to treat their conditions such as worms, fleas, ticks, the list goes on. I spent whatever resources I had to make sure that we lost no more from that first litter. It was hard sometimes, despite my best efforts, because there are some things that haven't changed yet, like serious illness and death.

Looking back on these experiences and others that I have had since then, I have learned something important about myself. I learned that I can make a difference and that I want to care. I could walk around in my own bubble, living my own life, until the day it ended, but that is not what I will do. I will not turn a blind eye, I will not give up, I will not act like the problems that I see around me will just go away on their own or that someone else will solve them. I, as in me, am fully capable of doing my part when I see even basic needs not being met. Don't get me wrong, I am not perfect, I am fallible, I am just a human being at the end of the day. But I have a choice to make in this life, the same as you do, as to who I will prove to be in the face of injustice, poverty, lawlessness, wreck less behaviors, and most importantly, Life.

In many ways, I am still that little girl, just watching from behind the skirts of her mother, viewing the world in a curious way, trying to come up with my best understanding of the way things work. From this negative experience, this single instance, my life has forever changed in the way that I interact with others, the way that I see the world and most importantly how I interact in it. There are some things that just do not work in my opinion, like savagery, preying upon the weaker because you can, it is easy to do so, or your believe that the life you are affecting is of lesser intelligence and thus of lesser importance.

I have thought it over, considered all things, all factors and I keep coming up with the same conclusion: "Mommy, I Will Do My Part To Save the World".