Vegans starting out

If we decide to do something, to protest, to speak out, to become vegan, the first thing we’ll notice is the effect on our own self esteem. It receives a boost, and obviously that feels good. It’s something we feel so strongly almost straight away, that we believe others will notice it in us and want it for themselves too. But no. It isn’t necessarily true that if we feel it that they will. Just becoming vegan is all we can do at first - do it, then start to show it and patiently wait for others, for the penny to drop.
Direct action is effective for rescuing animals but there’s no direct action we can carry out to forcibly change people’s minds. Our only weapon is to convince people of the benefits of making a voluntary choice and then letting them come to their senses in their own time.
The reason why vegan thinking and vegan eating and vegan clothing are so important is that it is an alternative way of physically surviving. And those who have tried vegan diets have unexpectedly found an improvement of health and well being … after a while. At first though these experiments may have a few glitches. Our body needs to readjust and, on a social level, our relationships need time to acclimatise. We need to work on various levels simultaneously, until things are running smoothly. It isn’t a complete panacea. It doesn’t necessarily bring us closer to love or non-separation, but it does install a measure of non-violence into our lives. In what we do about animal food, as we steer clear of nasty products in our lifestyle, it keeps us clear of the nastier side of our nature.