Sometimes, at the most unlikely moments, I get these flashes of insight that will fade off into the ether if I don’t write them down or record them somehow. Here’s one that came to me recently, but I have to give a little context first.

Most days when I haven’t stayed up well past midnight, I try to get up at 5 a.m. to go on a walk/run where I do a lot of thinking, praying, meditating, listening, etc. The 2.5 mile route I’ve mapped out near my house takes me past the sheep farm in the above image.

Anyway, in the last year as I’ve passed these sheep  a few hundred times, more than a few observations have recently forced their way into my conscious thoughts. I’d like to share one with you here:

By staying within the boundaries set for them by their owner, not only are these sheep kept safe from accidents with passing cars, but any natural predators in the area are kept out as well. Inside the fence, they’re free to eat whenever and wherever they like, and also express themselves however they like. There is a LOT of freedom within those imposed limitations!

But, what if they refused to accept the protective fences erected by their owner? What would their lives then look like?

If we could somehow find a way to live within the parameters (the fences) imposed by the following statement, life on planet earth look dramatically different:

Love your neighbor as yourself.

The implied restrictions in that one statement could usher in a golden age of humanity by protecting us from the inherent selfishness and greed responsible for so much pain and suffering. Think about it.