inspiration

why go vegan?
there a many reasons that a person should go vegan, ranging from religion to health, but in a way, i have discovered, they are all interconnected. why is religion so much different from health? does one not feed the development of the other? a healthy body needs a healthy mind, and a healthy mind cannot exist without a healthy body. whatever your religious views are, it is fundamental that we respect our bodies as places of worship, as elements of divine creation, and more than just mere accidents on this place called earth. life is full of experiences that lead us to believe there is more than just survival to live for, for in fact, that idea is too simple, too brutish and short, to be real.
one small story that keeps repeating itself in my life, and continually brings me closer to enlightenment, is about a family of foxes. i bike to work, about two miles, every day. on early mornings, right after sunrise, i pass a family of foxes at a small intersection in a quiet neighborhood. each day, there is at least one fox looking around, finishing his morning hunting and gathering, along the street where i bike by. as i pass, the fox just looks at me, he doesn't run, but just stares knowingly, as if to say, "hello, friend". the other day i saw all three of the foxes at three corners corner of the intersection, looking on at me passing by. as i biked, i greeted each of the foxes with a nod, and truly felt they understood that the best part of my day was seeing the three of them in the glowing light of dawn, greeting me with their black eyes and jaunty postures.
this experience, for me, is a real moment of life, wherein i felt the love of an animal enter my being, convincing me there is more than my perspective of life to be observed. the foxes know life differently than i do, but still, we are part of the same world. the anthropocentric existence that most humans lead does not allow for such revelations, unfortunately. we live our lives on so many occasions without even knowing what we are missing because we are too focused on our own meager existences.
a vegan diet encourages an enlightened mind, a mind knowing ahimsa, and a soul full of prem. by expressing our values through our diet, we can change our lifestyles, and shed the tired and desperate ways of anthropocentrism. we can live fuller, happier lives that make us more than what we eat, that make us aware of the love that is within us as well as within our animal friends.

tu es responsable de ce que tu as apprivoisé.
you are responsible for what you tame.
-antoine de st. euxpéry, le pétit prince

soon to come: vegan baking experiments, recipes, and more food for thought!
stay in touch, and please leave any comments on your vegan/ vegetarian experiences!