Guest Essay: Jen’s Vegan Lessons
It was a great and challenging year. At first I floundered. I missed creamy, goopy things, and thought I was doomed to life without them. Then I found the Grassroots Veganism support board (moderated by our illustrious Jo Stepaniak) and Jo’s own vegan Web site of the same name! Soon after, I ordered my first of Jo’s books. I don't know what I'd have done without all of those things. Jo makes a great case for veganism NOT being about deprivation!!! She also offers great philosophical advice, much of it for FREE on her Web site, and weekly recipes too. And the VegSource Web site itself, WOW! What a great thing to have at my fingertips! "Use thy resources shamelessly" was my first vegan lesson!
My second vegan lesson was "Know thy limitations and work with them to find a vegan solution." This is the creative, fun part of veganism (and of course it ties into the resource-using lesson). So you loved pot roast in your former omni incarnation, or you love perfume (or in my case cheesecake!) There is a vegan solution to just about everything we love to eat or wear; sometimes it just takes a little digging, patience, and, well, occasionally moolah (although not as often as one might think).
Also extremely important is to "Maintain thy sense of humor and fun." Laugh at yourself when necessary and try to see the best in others. If we get too serious, we forget what it's really all about. Laughter is amazing stuff. Sometimes a sense of humor is all it takes to derail someone who’s itchin’ for an argument!
Often in our quest to make a life change, we will falter. When you veer from your chosen path, you can continue to veer or you can evaluate what happened and create a plan for the next time. Forgiving yourself is essential. "When a mistake hath been made, thou shall not beat thyself up. Thou shall seek clarity and realignment with thy purpose."
My next lesson is: "Allow the compassion thou feelest for all life to extend to those who wish to rile thee up." Remembering our own struggles to go and stay vegan helps us not fall into the judgment trap. Veganism=compassion. I have found my compassion in human relationships has grown parallel to my compassion for animals. It feels wonderful, but of course sometimes it's very painful. As I have grown more confident in my stance and comfortable with my choice, I find that conflict is much more easily repelled. I have been gratified to hear from people that my style of "being vegan" helps them feel empowered and loved, not weak and reviled. I want to keep working on that--being a big ball of walking compassion.
Appropriately enough, it took another person to remind me of one of the most important vegan lessons: “Never forget thou art not alone in thy journey.” Reach out, connect, find vegan friends. Find a local animal rights or vegan support group in your area. Failing that, contribute to an online support board.
The final vegan lesson (for today, at least!): “Always remember thou art connected to all creatures and their destinies.” Sometimes when there is no big action to take, it's the smallest acts of compassion that make the difference. And truly, there really are no "small" acts of compassion anyway. In our quest to feel love and practice kindness, we grow in ways we couldn't possibly imagine. It is a total win-win situation and absolutely worth any challenges.
Happy Veganing!
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