I have a confession, during the transition of moving, on 2 occasions I ate non-vegan food. Now, before you call the vegan police on me, I'd like to invite a conversation around finding our individual version of veganism and checking in to check they are in alignment.
I'd like to start by clarifying my definition of a vegan as 'someone who does all they can to not contribute to the suffering of animals'. Notice how there's no rules in that. So many approach veganism like a strict diet, a rigid set of rules, with all or nothing thinking.
I would instead like to invite that its an individual journey and we are 100% empowered to make our own rules.
With veganism, there are millions of shades of grey, are back yard eggs OK? How about honey from my bees? How about food additives? What about the orangutans and palm oil? How about the field mice? What about deforestation from soy? etc etc, I would like to invite that we as compassionate beings, can choose our own individual line.
This is the work I do with my clients, I help empower them to make these choices make the considerations and create their own version of veganism.
I also consider it important to check in with these choices and values and see if they have changed or need revision.
So lets come back to my confession and the thoughts and feels around it. So, while at a friends house, she brought out a box of Guylian chocolates. These used to be my favorite and were my last food as a non-vegan. They were there on the table, my friend mentioned they were a gift and she doesn't like chocolate. I weighed up the cruelty in them and the fact they would end up in the bin, I also wondered if I still like them, so I ate 2. They were nice at first but left an iccy feeling in my mouth and, this experience for me confirmed that the suffering of the animals is not worth it just chocolate. I find vegan chocolate to be a much better choice.
I even let my son had some, and he got an upset stomach. He would sometimes ask for dairy chocolate, and now he doesn't because he knows it doesn't make him feel good.
The second incidence, was when we were in an all you can eat restaurant, they brought out cheese toast and just dumped it on the table without asking if we wanted it. Cheese toast was another fave, and when at my old job, I would smell toasted sandwiches and think how nice it smelled but would then feel sick thinking about what the animals went through to make the cheese. So as above I weighed up the pros and cons, and knowing it would just be wasted, and wondered if I still liked it. Again it was nice at first then left an oily greasy taste and it repeated on my for 2 days! Again, confirming for me that being vegan is 100% in alignment with me and cheese toast isn't worth lives.
This may seem like a non-vegan thing to do and that I have broken the rules, but I can now release these things, safe in the knowledge I don't care for them anymore and that I have chosen the right path for me.
The key to making veganism work for me is checking in with my soul, who I am and what I stand for. And testing this every now and again to make sure I am still in alignment.
If you would like to work out your line and how to get you into alignment get in touch!
In love and compassion
Sally the Natural Coach
