Humanity should respect animals.

[Tenet Nosce]

But that doesn't negate the reality of the moment, and the imprint it leaves on the psyche, which then carries over into future incarnations.

Are you referring to the violent component to the act of killing? If so, I see what you mean. Though that causes me to wonder about when people (or animals) die violently from totally natural means... does that imprint differently?

But I thought finding a baby bird was a very common childhood experience.

The "wanting to save it" is what I think might be overgeneralized. Some might want to kill it. Others might just be afraid of it. Some just feel sad for it, but don't try to save it. Others totally uninterested.... and so on.

The Life realized that afterwards, but when it's still in the midst of physical death, it still wants to stay in the physical.

But it's not all in the physical... the nonphysical portion doesn't experience the forgetting that the physical portion experiences.

Awww! Have you forgiven yourself?

For the most part. The spider-spirits and I now have an agreement- they don't crawl on my body and I will make a best-effort to spare their lives if when they decide to set up shop inside the house, or outside near the entryways. It's worked out pretty well so far!

I've never heard that. Who's 'they'?

If I knew exactly who, I wouldn't have said "they." But I know I've heard that idea more than once, and it seemed to resonate.