I was "vegetarian" for a time in my high school years. I put the word in quotes for several reasons: I totally lacked both the knowledge base to provide myself with the nutrients I needed and the family support to make it happen; worst of all, I lacked the discipline. It was too easy to be distracted from my goal and if I was hungry enough I'd pretty much eat anything.
Things are different now. I'm in charge of the food purchases in our household, I worked for a long time at a local health food store, I have the internet with its vast resources, and best of all, I have a supportive husband who will eat anything I cook!
The reasons I've decided to take this challenge on again are many. Meat, and red meat in particular, has a negative effect on my body. My digestion slows and I feel heavy after a meal where meat (and for that matter, dairy) is the main offering. I don't enjoy meat dishes any more than vegetarian ones. I have seen so many videos of the violent and inhumane treatment of animals in factory farms that have brought me to tears. I know that the safety regulations around the production and processing of meat are often ignored or abused. I know the potential for negative health effects of meat-rich diets. The chemicals and antibiotics that must be used to keep animals healthy enough for slaughter have a cumulative effect on our own health and the strength of our immune systems. There are so many reasons to not eat it anymore that it is time for me to finally listen to my own heart.
Recently, though, due in part to my dedication to my yoga practice and study of the traditional philosophies surrounding it, not being vegetarian feels unnatural and out of place. The first two limbs of Astanga (the eight limb path) are the Yamas or moral restraints. The first Yama is ahimsa, or nonviolence (also sometimes translated as nonharming). I had begun to feel some time ago that I needed to cross this hurdle before I could even begin to work on the others... additionally, the mindfulness that yoga affords me lets me think before acting, so if I do see a temptation here or there, I may be less likely to give in.
Please note that I don't suggest that being vegetarian makes one superior to another. It's a choice that makes sense for me. Ideally we could all embrace a life path designed around a desire to eliminate suffering and harm to others, but I recognize that the change has to start within me, first.
*For now, I'm still allowing seafood in my diet, but with time that will go, too. My friend Carol said I'm a Pescetarian. Works for me. It's been two weeks since I started... more later.
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