Operation 303: Beloved and Free

“This gratitude– this grace– fills me up and spills out of me and all I can do is run and jump…”

29 days.

That’s how long it has been since every pig I have ever known was killed or left behind to be killed another day.  Not a single one will survive, save me.  It’s hard to explain all that is happening in my heart right now.

The outpouring of love and care for me has been overwhelming and humbling.  But I am just one, among so many.  Why me?  At moments, the grief and guilt are nearly crippling.  At other moments, I am exhilarated to be alive and free.

I need to make this life count.  I need to speak for all of the other pigs still held in cages, living in misery as they await death.  So, I am going to tell my story to all who will listen.  I want to make it clear: my story is their story.  I am not special or different or somehow smarter than the others. We pigs all think and feel and love and dream.  And if you think that I deserve safe sanctuary just because I took a leap of faith, I am here to say that every other pig deserves the same.

The thing is, it is you that needs to take a leap of faith now.  It is up to you to free them by leaping into the unknown and creating a world in which we can all coexist.

Look into my eyes, I am the same as you.

I am you.

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A week ago Thursday was moving day.  A long day, but a wonderful one!  The angel who stayed with me on the highway and protected me after I jumped off of the truck was here to greet me.  I liked him so much that they named me after him.  Eddie Traffic.  It sounds cool, doesn’t it?  I am no longer a number.

Since then my life has shifted dramatically from the way it was before I leapt!  I am no longer caged, nor even kept in a small pen.  I make my own choices about going inside and out.  I am no longer fed “slops”, and I have learned to eat lots of healthy fresh veggies with whole grain and fruit.  I must say the fruit is my favorite– the juicier the better!

At first when they told me I could just go in and out on my own whenever I wanted, I was a bit confused.  I was never allowed to move around and make my own choices before,  so I was even scared of the step from the barn into the paddock.

But leaps of faith are my specialty.  Now I jump in and out of the barn dozens of times a day.  What fun to make my own choices!  What fun to be free, and loved, and alive!  This gratitude– this grace–  fills me up and spills out of me and all I can do is run and jump — something I also was never able to do before– until I am panting and exhausted.  And then guess what happens?  I go back to my soft, warm bed and rest while someone kind strokes my back and sings lullabies.  All the while Sherman, the valiant rooster, watches over me as if I were his own piglet.

Beloved.  This is what it feels like to be beloved.

The mailbox and the Facebook page are flooded with love letters daily, and they read every one to me.  People from around the world write to tell me how much my freedom means to them.  So many of them feel caged and stuck in their own lives.  Somehow, my story has touched them and brought them hope.  I am humbled and overwhelmed, and most of all so very thankful that hearing of my struggles and victory can help others overcome their own challenges.

I’ve made several new friends here already.  Sherman has taken it upon himself to precede me wherever I go inside the barn and the pasture, heralding my arrival to everyone in hearing range. It’s a bit over the top, really, but much nicer than how I used to be treated.

Nunzi, the grumpy, old pig next door tried to bite my nose a few times.  I didn’t care, but Sherman was fairly put off by the whole exchange.  In my old life, I never even got to touch another pig, so I just think of these as love bites.

I think my favorite new pig friend is Magdie.  She is a she is soft and gentle and patient and reminds me of what my mother would probably have been like as an old woman.  She sings, too.

I like the people here.  Every once in a while if someone moves too quickly, it brings up bad memories and startles me, but I really do love all of the attention they give me.

One more really important thing happened since I got here!  I took the tag out of my ear.  It hurt because my ear was infected, but it is out now and they keep cleaning my ear and putting soothing stuff on it.  I kind of like being pampered this way.

Beloved.  I am not only free, but also beloved!

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So here I am, this is my path.  This is my journey.  This is our journey.  You and I are both survivors, and our job now is to speak for all the others.

Your job now is to take your own leap of faith.  What will it be?

“Your job now is to take your own leap of faith. What will it be?”

 

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