Thursday, July 12, 2007

Do spiders have souls?

I know my post of June 18 was kind of a disturbing one (at least my husband didn't like it) but I was in a mood when I wrote it. I was really worried about an upcoming doctor appointment where I was to get a biopsy. It got me thinking of my own mortality (at least, I began to think about it even more than I usually do). And the last thing I needed/need is for someone to tell me that this is all there is. I suppose I should just stay away from the internet and the subject, but I can't help myself. I search for some kind of comfort, like personal accounts of ghosts and spirits which might convince me that there is something more to this life.

Other thoughts about this subject bother me, like when people claim that only humans have a soul. I believe that everything, down to insects, has some kind of "life force" - I just don't know what happens next. If I squash that spider I saw in my living room the other day, does it descend to heaven where its relatives and "God" are there to greet it? It sounds ridiculous. What about the trillions and trillions of other insects, fish, animals, one-celled organisms, etc. that exist and that EVER existed?

The only explanation that makes sense is what someone said on this site I was looking at once:

"It is said that when animals pass they return to a universal animal conciousness, but with pets, because we love them, they become part of our circle of life and therefore are waiting for us when we pass. We give them an individuality (and they give us love) that they would not have received in the wild, and therefore they become part of our circle of love and life."

What is love? Is it also a "life force" that has some kind of power? Is love really "God" then?

2 comments:

Jack Steiner said...

I have always believed that animals have souls, but insects? I have to think about that one.

Pam said...

Jack, do you think the more brain cells one has, the more chance of having a soul? If I am to have this belief that everything has a life force, I gotta include insects too! And Amoebas! LOL