Thanks to a comment by visitor Candi, I have been inspired to reveal the "epihany" I experienced which nudged me, finally, into the vegan lifestyle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As a vegetarian for 33 years, I would find myself apologizing to inquiring minds about my eating eggs and dairy by saying, "I'm still evolving." Well recently I realized I couldn't even apologise to even myself anymore. I had stumbled upon a short video clip narrated by Alec Baldwin. It was PETA footage taken in a slaughterhouse. At the end I hear him say, "If you drink milk you are still supporting the production of veal."
For some reason, while sitting in my Honda Accord waiting to make a left turn at a light (I distinctly remember the intersection in Mineola, NY) and (probably) listening to Nellie Furtado, I heard myself reviewing the good and bad behaviours of the person Carl (me-duh).
As usual, I was disgusted with myself for biting my cuticles again after months of no-biting and healing. But also, remembering recent conversations defending my "halt in evolution". How long have I been repeating this "excuse"? 33 years?! What am I nuts? Did I ever really mean to evolve, you know, make that leap into the dark world of further rununciation and self-sacrifice?
I sat there ashamed. Who the hell am I kidding? I have not moved on this because I was never really gonna do it dammit! Yeah, tell everyone, and, well, show them my plastic shoes and belts
and explain that we don't bet on horses or attend circuses, blah, blah, blaaaahhhhh.
Wait a freakin' minute, here! If I look close enough, I think I am practically there. I think I already have one foot in an air bubble hole in a piece of vegan seitan! This next step shouldn't be all that hard, well, except for all the family and co-worker ribbing and points of view and anger and inconvenience.
So, really, there it is. Thanks to the accidental discovery of the Baldwin/PETA video, I decided I was fed up being a hypocrite to myself. I only wish I would've made the transformation sooner, as I find out now that vegans are alot cooler than the breed I saw roaming the vegetarian summerfests in 1975!...
...and, hey, I can actually buy Vegan Multi-vitamins and soy yogurt! How great is that?!
1 comment:
:) Aww, thanks for the link and for the post! I was curious, as I'm sure others were as well! Congrats on the move to veganism. It's probably not as "weird" or difficult as you imagined. Anyhow, be proud of your decisions and don't let the family members or friends get you down or concerned. I joined Blogger for the support, really, and found it to be excellent and informative. I can handle the family comments better now knowing that I love my decisions and know it's right for me. Congrats to you and if you get the typical teasing with the "tofu" jokes, you know where to come. :)
Post a Comment