Day 49f: Compassion for the callous … (06/02/2019)
On & on I walk, and am steadily heading towards the village of Queyrieres in the distance when the path suddenly veered away from that potential place of respite ( :O ) … I then passed the very last house on the very outskirts of town and decide to stop in and ask for my standard glass of water (doing so not so much because I was particularly thirsty at the time, but rather because the home had a sign hanging out front that boldly depicted a hunter holding a gun). The owner of that same residence (a man named Vigouret) came out shortly thereafter and informed me that The Way avoided the aforementioned town because there are no cafes of restaurant on hand, and as such there are no places for tourists to pause and spend money, and as such the local church was locked up tight to all but local residents … :O
I then accepted his offer to sit awhile on his patio and drink some water, and thereafter regaled him with a few tidbits of information about my journey’s Why’s & How’s — information that he found to be quite remarkable; so much so that he went back inside and returned with a fresh-baked croissant which he gruffly plopped down in front of me ( :O ) … I politely declined his generous offer (and offer that was obviously very difficult for him, a man of obvious wealth, to make) by explaining that I was a vegan and that I steadfastly refused to partake of any food that came from the suffering of my animal friends — whereby he laughed derisively, picked up the croissant, moved a bit closer to my face, and took an overtly aggressive bite of the same … :O
To my humbled credit, I instinctively laughed at his rude & somewhat heartless provocation (not only because I understood that he felt stiffed over the rejection of his gift, but also because I full-well comprehended that my unconditional respect for all animals inspired him to feel at least subconsciously ashamed for his obvious lack of the same), I beamed him a smile of true compassion, I thanked him most sincerely for the kindness he had offered me, and then I wished him well while I stood and departed back out onto The Way … 🙂
“There can be as many wrong reasons to do the right thing as there are stars in the sky, and there might even be more than one legitimate right reason to do so. And yet there is never a right reason to do a wrong thing — never.” ~ via Donita Paul
;