I have a withhold.  I have made the successful transition to being vegan for about 2 years now, but I have been holding back from saying much about it here.  After I read about the realities of food production in the world, I was passionately determined to not participate in factory farming.  It was Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer that initially motivated me to make the decision to stop supporting the meat and dairy industry. I was so appalled at what I learned!  I had never before been ready to face into the reality of where my food was coming from with my eyes wide open. Friends and family have asked if it was my bout with breast cancer that influenced my decision to be vegan.  I don’t have a conscious knowing that this was what ignited my interest, but I am aware that I had just completed my treatment around the same time that I chose to read Eating Animals.  What I know is that I felt an impulse and curiosity that I was very drawn to follow. What’s matters is that I listened to what I really wanted and followed my desire to learn about and ‘try on’ being vegan.  I’m so glad I followed my impulse.  I felt (and still feel!) such a delicious whole body yes decision to be vegan, for my health, the animals(WARNING: GRAPHIC AND DIFFICULT TO WATCH) and the environment.

I haven’t written much about this here because I thought you would judge me.  (Yeah, so?) Think of me as radical! (I am!) And then of course, I would cry.  Smile!  You wouldn’t trust me to be your coach if you knew.  After all, vegans are those weird, hippie people who just eat granola and sprouts, right?  Bigger Smile!   Being vegan has given me another opportunity to be a very tall and proud sunflower in beautiful bloom.  I delight in fully owning my authority, my authorship of my life, which now includes caring about animals such that I don’t want to contribute to their suffering or violent deaths.  I choose to eat consciously to support my best health and my best energy.  I choose to care about the my environmental footprint and do my part to make it smaller.

 Why does conscious living equal being vegan for me?   I am so clear I am living in integrity, doing the right thing, taking right action, for me.  I feel deeply aligned with my values of nonviolence, living in awareness and taking 100% responsibility for the life I am choosing to live.  I also feel loving, accepting and respectful of every person’s right to choose what they eat.  (Of course, I always wish they would eat less meat!) Most every vegan used to eat animal products at some point in his or her life.  Being vegan is about compassion and education and advocacy, not about making judgments.

Being vegan has also opened up a new avenue for me to express my creativity.  I savor the joy of  writing, coaching and vegan cooking.  I continue to educate myself about living and eating compassionately.  I feel so grateful for all the vegan bloggers and activists in the world who teach me so much everyday and motivate me to do more to make the world a kinder, smarter and more aware place.  If this leaves you with any desire to explore veganism and lean in that direction, check this out.

Ahhhh.  The joy of fully revealing!

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those that matter don’t mind.”  Dr. Seuss