“ If you ask me,” I said, “all you have to do is look an animal in the eye to know they have a soul.”
Jack nodded thoughtfully. “I can buy that.”
“ But am I right?”
“ I’ll leave that to you to decide.”
“ Animals either have a soul or they don’t,” I said. “Which is it?”
“ Which do you believe it is?”
“ I believe animals have a soul.”
Jack nodded. “A sound belief.”
“ But you will not confirm or deny,” I said.
“ It’s not my job to confirm or deny,” said Jack.
“ And what’s your job?” I asked.
“ To allow.”
We were at McDonald’s on a warm Saturday afternoon. The jungle gym was rocking. The drive-thru line wrapped halfway around the building. McDonald’s must be doing something right. Jack was looking as homeless as ever. He wore a tattered and stained windbreaker, holey jeans. Mismatched sneakers and different-colored socks.
I drank some Coke, snacked on some fries. After a few moments, I said, “I’m a vegetarian now.”
“ I can see that.”
“ But is that the right way to live?”
He sipped some of his coffee. “It is dangerous ground, Jim, when others determine what is right.”
Somehow I knew he would say this. “So it is up to the individual to define what is right?”
“ Always.”
“ But what if their right is wrong?”
“ Then who’s to determine what is right or wrong?”
“ You, of course,” I said.
He looked up at me. Steam from his coffee made some of the dirt on his jaw waver a little. “I know you, Jim. You do not react well when someone tells you to do something.”
“ I follow the laws of the land,” I said. “For the most part.”
“ Do you agree with the laws?”
I shrugged. “Most.”
“ And what would happen if you didn’t agree with what I determined was right or wrong?”
“ I would say, who am I to question God?”
“ But I want you to question God, Jim. I want you to question everything.”
“ Why?”
“ Because the answers you receive will define who you are, and how you will live, and how you will treat others.”
“ But not everybody will come up with the same answers.”
“ That’s the point, Jim.”
“ So there are no wrong answers?”
“ None.”
“ But what if my answers hurt others?”
Jack sat back and held his coffee in both hands. His hands, I saw, were filthy. There was even dirt caked under his nails. God had dirt under his nails?
“ Hurting others is a delicate business, Jim.”
“ What do you mean, exactly?”
“ Quite simply: do what you want to yourself. But the moment you cause harm to another-or discord of any type-you will need to reestablish a balance.”
I was about to stuff some fries in my mouth. I paused about an inch or two away from my mouth. “What, exactly, does that mean?”
“ It means there’s a cause and effect in place, or a law of compensation.”
“ You’re talking about karma,” I said.
“ Yes,” he said, smiling at me. He always smiled. “Karma is another word for it.”
“ Most people believe karma is a load of crap.”
“ Karma works whether one believes it’s a load of crap or not.”
Now I smiled at hearing Jack say the word crap. “Kind of like the Law of Attraction.”
He nodded. “Yes, it’s always working. Always in place. Remember, every experience in life has a former cause. And every current experience will result in a future cause. I do not tell people how to live, but causing harm to another, or discord of any type, will be returned to you. It must be.”
“ To re-establish a balance,” I said.
He nodded. “Right. One must experience what one causes another to experience.”
“ Why?”
“ It is the only way to true growth, Jim. Everyone must eventually understand what the effect of his own creation is upon the rest of the life in your world.”
“ You said life,” I said. “You did not just say people.”
“ Indeed,” he said.
“ So if one causes harm to another living creature…”
“ One is compelled to understand the effects of his harm…even on animals.”
“ Who compels?” I asked.
He smiled again. “The laws of the Universe, Jim.”
“ And who put these laws into place?”
“ Perhaps,” he said, winking. “That can be a question for another time.”