What I Once Saw — And What I Can’t Unsee Now

There was a time in my life when this felt normal.

I would walk into a chicken shop and ask for fresh meat — knowing that it meant a live bird would be killed.

I couldn’t fully watch it.
When the moment came, I would turn my face away.

But I stayed.
I paid.
I took the meat home.

And that is something that sits heavily with me today.

I remember enough to know what was happening.

The chicken was alive just moments before.
Its life ended right there — not gently, not with awareness, but as part of a routine.

And what disturbed me even more was what followed.

The body would be put into hot water so the feathers could be removed quickly.
It was all done as a process — efficient, practiced, normalized.

No one around me reacted.

Because to everyone there, this was just… how it is done.

And the truth is — I was part of that normal.

I didn’t question it.
I didn’t stop it.
I participated in it simply by choosing to buy it.

Even writing this now… it doesn’t feel easy.

Because when I look back, it’s not just about what happened —
it’s about how unquestioned it all was.

In many parts of the world today, this reality is hidden.

People don’t see what happens.
They only see what reaches their plate.

And maybe that distance makes it easier to accept.

Because if we don’t witness something, we don’t feel responsible for it.

But I often ask myself something very simple:

If we showed this process to children — honestly, without hiding anything — would they still choose to eat it?

I find it hard to believe they would.

Not because they are taught anything…
but because they respond naturally, with empathy.

And that makes me feel something I didn’t feel before:

That maybe awareness should come earlier.
That maybe we should be more honest about where our food comes from.

Because for me, no one explained it.

No one helped me connect the life of an animal… to what was on my plate.

Today, I see it differently.

For me, it comes down to a choice.

Not a perfect one.
Not one I always understood.

But a conscious one.

I choose not to take a life when I don’t have to.
I choose not to support systems that depend on that harm.
I choose to live in a way that feels more aligned with what I now understand.

A thought to reflect on

Sometimes, it’s not that we don’t care.

It’s that we were never shown the full picture.

But once you see it…
it becomes a choice you can’t ignore.