Leopards & Lions in the Masai Community

After a discussion earlier today, in which I shared my interpretation of a leopard to Professor Pfordresher he realized that I had constructed an interesting antithesis. Now I also realize that both creatures are majestic and are almost mirror images of human nature. In the book Rediscovering Christianity, the Masai Tribe of Tanzania believe the Lion is God. People have inherent characteristics that make them good, however is it the desires of a person that determine whether a person will exercise gluttony, lust or restraint. The leopard can kill just for the sake of killing. Same can be said of a person. Sometimes there is not a really explanation or a logical one for why a person acts a certain way or commits certain acts, other than the person takes great pleasure from it. The Leopard that attacked and plagued the Masai Tribe did not have the necessity to feed every night, but the thrill of the hunt and chase of the herds facilitated its desire for the lustful sinning. Same can be said of many human activities. 

A person can be just like the Lion: bold, shows restraint and regal in the way they carry themselves. I believe that every person has a bit of the Lion and the Leopard in them, essentially it all depends on said person to choose which one to encompass. However, I also believe that a person can have a bit of the leopard in them while maintaining a consistent foundation that IS the lion. And of course, vice versa. 

As I write this, I'm not quite sure what my ultimate purpose is in writing this blog, other than the animals in our world remind me our human traits and our essential primitive beings. Something that we often forget we are. We are all animals with certain innate characteristics that cause us to act in certain ways, regardless if we truly desire to do them or not. Of course, every human being can rationalize and determine for himself or herself what to do. What is morally correct and what is not. The fact that human beings have the capacity to rationalize separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom and places us higher in the animal kingdom.