17 August 2013. Meeting with 2 friends

Met with Stuart.  He was just politely interested in my Veganism which was pretty cool.  He told me openly about some things he enjoyed to eat such as duck eggs.  He seemed interested in the whole idea how I'd got into Veganism from the personal development group as an idea of compassionate living.  I could reflect on how my life has deepened since I moved away and became Vegan and how I got involved with the spiritual development group.

Met with another friend in the evening.  I noticed a lot more here from the Vegan angle.  I could think a lot again about the hardest part about being Vegan as quoted in the other post I did.  How he's a great person but really doesn't think much about eating animals at all as I never did.  I thought of a friends post on Facebook about Veganism not being a cult but actually meat eating being a cult since it is what we are just told to be true from being born as Vegan then not really knowing why we are doing it but defending it.

He by no means had a go at me in any sense, we are friends and he's a respectful guy but it was interesting how eating meat is just part of who he is and the things he said as I wrote in my other post about a friends partner eating folie gras sound narcissistic when written but I know from their tone it is just a blindness and a lack of awareness.  This friend is a smart guy, smarter than me but yet was not able to see or morally engage on that level. 

He mentioned how on Facebook lots of my friends seemed 'quite extreme' in their views.  He mentioned about an animal 'not being a person, they don't have the same developed consciousness'.  I let this go and he was being fun and jokey but while meaning it and I guess missing the point that this lesser consciousness doesn't mean they don't have a right to live since they clearly want to and we don't need to eat them.  Again the whole idea of Vegans being extreme is funny to me now as I think of us eating a load of stuff that grows then think of images of a slaughter house.mmmmm which one is extreme ?

Similarly he mentioned at one point certain animals 'being useful to us'.  I guess again a very speciesist attitude but more ingrained as his normal.  I noticed too how he mentioned about some friends being vegetarian so didn't mind vegetarian food every now and again but didn't like having more than one vegan meal in a row as he would 'start to feel weak'.  Again very interesting perception.  The idea that somehow we need meat and it makes us strong.  Again the complete brainwashed cult mentality we are just indoctrinated with which contains no truth.

Overall a very interesting day of seeing how Veganism plays out.

Frustration

I really hate it how we can't get through to everyone.  I think of people who remain so set in their ways and the frustration with that.  I guess though as a Counsellor I need to just look at my response and not try to just focus on changing them.  I need to look at me and how I can best express my Veganism and share with as many people as possible as effectively as possible and choose my battles carefully and just not waste my time.  I guess it's important to look at how I manage myself and my time and just keep moving forward and living life and if it comes down to it I need to accept that friends do come and go and just keep going down my path.

Maybe writing like this and using my dictaphone too will allow that constant expression and allow me to move forward as a Vegan activist as well as I possible can.  It was great to build those connections tonight and in the next few days making meals.  It shows that I'm doing that.

Maybe since there isn't a counter argument to veganism but since nonsense is vented in my direction I should be strong and maybe say I think you should try it if you are genuinely interested in food, health and ethics, there isn't any reason not to.

Maybe it will get to a stage whereas I ultimately won't have time for people like that.  I guess that's something I'll just have to keep writing about and keep managing, finding ways to keep myself sane so I can address it day by day as well as I can.  It does sadden me but I've noticed rifts which I need to accept may never ever find a happy conclusion but will lead to my moving on ultimately.

So what's my plan... to not visit people like that maybe... to stay in my own area living my own life and just meet up at mutual places could maybe be the way forward.  I'm not willing to tolerate that kind of ongoing talk really and I don't just want to be treated as a side show... it's not respectful. My veganism does really need to be acknowledged for it's importance.

I simply can't win on the other territory.  I need to acknowledge that and accept it but I can build my own new base and keep behaving in a way which will cause the most impact positively... like my new labyrinth tattoo symbol I'll get.

It's nice to have this break just to relax and take stock of where I'm up to.  It's scary though to move away from very strong connections.  I guess that's where making more is the way forward.  My new vegan connections... my new life as a vegan. :)

lots of vegan esque talking, dvds and lots more great vegan food. Day 3

Had another cool day of just relaxing around my home and outside.  It's so so cool how much more openminded my folks seem to be thesedays.  It seems they're really enjoying their older semi retired years.  They are so much more compassionate in the way they talk about life, health, animals etc.  I guess before they just weren't conscious.

My Dad was saying how he lost 20 pounds over the last couple of years through a more plant based diet.  He was showing me a thing he got from a more enlightened doctor 8 years ago pointing out to move towards more plant based eating and regrets that he was quite dismissive at the time.  He's in the living room right now reading 'Thrive' by Brendan Brazier which I bought for my sister's birthday.

My sister talks about animal rights lots.  I have to stop her sometimes as she started talking about horrible animal conditions.  She's pretty much vegan now I think.  Today I was just recommending she get a b12 supplement which she hasn't done as yet.

My sister and me watched forks over knives which was pretty cool and those same themes.  I wasn't sure if it goes a bit too far maybe.  I am a strong vegan but some stuff concerns me and seems a bit less than concrete.

I do personally advocate veganism as the optimum diet for physical and mental health and that there is no need to harm an animal (to do so is a psychopathic act as some Psychologists hold).  Nonetheless I felt the film clumped fish with meat etc.  I feel fish in non polluted waters wouldnt be so bad on a pure physical level but best not from an ethical angle first and foremost.  Also it talked about being vegan as maybe being the same as plant based but being vegan is a lifestyle incorporating more than just what we eat. 

It quotes the China study a lot which does seem to have good work in it but nonetheless in some ways seems a lot of stats which are interpreted in a certain way and could potentially be seen slightly differently.  It concerns me sometimes as I strongly advocate people to become vegan as a whole physical and mental health optimum lifestyle however I don't want things to become distorted and lack substance for movements towards credibly making animals as food and clothing illegal.  We don't need to do that I don't think.

I do still think however the very main principles of the film are fundamentally correct.  The depressing reality of a brainwashed culture and pretty much showing eating animals is bad for us... eating plants is good etc etc... eating animals causes this this and this.. eating plants reverses.  Such a simple depressing truth.  Shame everyone can't get it.

Aug 1. Great relaxed first vegan day back in the UK. Completely veganly sane.

I arrived back and got picked up by my folks from the airport about 9 am.  Was great to see them and they seemed really well in themselves.  It was a great day and so cool how supportive they are of my veganism (see my other post) and how they have very much been evolving their diet to becoming iincreasingly plant based.  I could see this on a health and also on an ethical level too as my Dad spoke about trying not to buy anything with palm oil in.  Similarly they could really understand what I was saying about the new veganesque documentary Blackfish I'd seen.  Well worth checking out by the way.  During our brief discussion outside about factory farming by Dad gave a genuine 'awww' as I said about factory farmed pigs.

It was great to just really take it easy.  I spent the day relaxing around the home, in the conservatory and outside.  For lunch my Mum made a tomato soup which we had with cool grainy bread and some raw brocolli.  For dinner we had a vegetable curry my Mum made with brown rice and also some potatoes with sweet chilli sauce (something from the Revive book 2 I bought for them).  I love those books.  They gratefully recieved the second one as a present so was great to share my story of how helpful I'd found the first then to pass on the second to help them further to become more vegatarian.

I didn't unpack anything and felt kind of weird all day with underlying jet lag but relaxing was just cool.  Oh as an added great thing my Mum had made a vegan chocolate cake as a welcome back.  Such a great idea I thought and so thoughtful.  It tasted great with the soy ice cream. Do actually feel really greatful for how cool they've been. Obviously wouldn't stop me being vegan at all but would be increasingly more annoying.

In the evening we relaxed and watched Die hard I'd picked up from play.com for £1.80.  So so cool. can't believe it's 25 years old.

A great grounding thing that doesn't take more time

Like a real grounding in what a human stands for.  I remember a conversation with a friend and he was saying it was great in the sense that it's not an activity that ultimately takes more time.  You learn some recipes etc then you're actually living the same time wise than you would be eating animals. 

It's not like you're suddenly devoting 10 more hours to work as a volunteer for an animal shelter or something.  At the same time though it feels so so sad that being Vegan should just
be a basic grounding for everyone.  It's not actually special at all.  It's just extremely basic courtesy. 

Or even more than that it's just not being a complete c***.  It's sad that it can't be seen like that.