The subjectivity of what is sacred
Something that is becoming more and more apparent from living on a farm for nearly 2 months now is that the value of life (and, more specifically, death) is vastly different to that which I have ever experienced before. This is probably because the people living in the countryside have a closer connection to nature, which, as well as having a deep respect for living creatures, also allows them to witness the harsh and violent aspect of living in the wilderness. Rather than the idealised version of nature that many city dwellers have, where everything in nature is pure and innocent and fragile, those residing in the rural areas see the raw and powerful side to nature on a daily basis; African wild dogs ripping the guts out of kudu calves as they try to run away, droughts killing off thousands of animals, elephants destroying one year's worth of a family's crop in 24 hours, caracals massacring 20 lambs in one night, male lions biting into the necks of their lionesses' bastar...