Just a reminder that the vegan part of it gets much easier with time
.
I've been doing this for around a decade, and am just not really tempted by meats, eggs, cheese, ice cream, etc. I have been tempted by fish, but the last time I smelled it up close (I now let groundhubby cook some wild fish for himself in his own pan at home--relatively new compromise we struck
)--it seemed gross to me, so maybe I really don't miss that either
.
But here at work I was loading paper inot our machines early this morning, and it was just me on one side of the room and the cleaning lady on the other...somone had left some PETA factory farm cruelty pamphlets lying around, and of course it was her job to throw them away...well, I could see she was aboslutely horrified looking through one of 'em...so I said, "Did you see that gruesome factory farm stuff they do to raise meat these days?" And she was like,"Oh it's horrible, I wish I didn't need to eat it." So, there's my chance
..."Yeah, I quit with the meat about 15 years ago and then quit with the eggs and cheese and milk about 10 years ago...that's ONE of the reasons I'm glad I don't eat that stuff anymore...I don't have to feel like I'm paying people to be that cruel." I could tell it seemed impossible to her that I could go without for so long
...well...she knows I'm "OLD,"
and all of that, and so she was sort of lookin' me up and down, and then blurted out--"THAT'S why you don't look your age and you're so skinny, and your SKIN...that's how come you've got such lovely skin!" Of course I think I look old and my skin looks YUCK
, so maybe the meat-eating has affected her eyesight more than my looks
, but it felt good to get a compliment regardless, so I soaked it all up real good there for a couple of seconds
--we talked about how a cup of collard greens has more calcium than a glass of milk, about how the protein in meat makes your kidneys wear out, about how common cancer and heart disease has been here in our workplace, even among fairly younger folks, etc. I was GOOD, too...didn't preach at all
...just empathized with her desire to not partake in all of that animal cruelty by buying meats, eggs, cheese, etc., and chimed in about how much better it is for you to avoid it anyway. I had the feeling when we parted she might take it upon herself to do a little bit of research from there
--groundhogg has mellowed with time...
But my point here in this post, the thing that was hitting home with me when we were having this discussion this morning, was how DIFFICULT it sounded to her, when, after 10 years, that part, staying vegan, sounds incredibly easy to me, when back 8 or 9 years ago it was tough for me to pass up cheese, ice cream, and especially chicken livers
, yes, I once LOVED chicken livers
. I was thinkin' ;'bout that when I was telling here when I smell somebody heating up cheese in the lounge microwave just down from my office, it stinks really badly to me, just as if a nonsmoker smells a cigarette, it stinks, but to a smoker it smells delicious...same kinda thing.
So...again, my point is the vegan thing really DOES get easy after several months or a couple of years. the sugar, oil...those have been more persistent temptations with me than the vegan part...I mean, I don't really ever want ice cream...but give me some of the frozen vegan stuff (all has sugar and oil
) andthat's another story entirely
...still waiting for that part to get easier!!!! STill, my only temptations are still within the vegan realm...so it's not like I'm drooling for EVERYTHING...but once I WAS.
ooops...
am I rambling? Just tryin' to say you do lose your desire for meat, eggs, and diary products if you get away from them for long enough.
Just try to hang on tight to that thought!
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
