Vegans have made one or two really quite dramatic changes in their lives. For a start, they’ve replaced the items in their fridge. They’ve changed their whole lifestyle from the one they’ve always known. (Now, today of course, there are ‘lifers’, vegan from birth).
Vegans may have made certain changes but the need is still there, to change. I mean the whole continuing process of change itself breathes life into life. Change is like cycling. You curse the hills but love running down the other side.
As vegans we need change to keep on our toes. We have an ‘opposition’ out there, amongst them some ferociously determined, clever, vocal people with opinions. We need to put them in their place, no, that sounds arrogant, we need to gently put them right about a couple of important things, but how? Gently?
Since we may not know how to be ‘gentle with the opposition’ all this is idle speculation to be saved up for another day. One day we’ll be speaking boldly … but back to today. Back to change. We, as vegans, need to change lots of things about ourselves, beyond the fridge door. But if change is the freeing process why wouldn’t we want to change? Each day is an opportunity for change.
Importantly though, vegans need to show we’re still changing, evaluating and discriminating, according to ‘fair’. To be fair is to be entertaining even those thoughts eschewed before, to show no fear of being fair. We must know of ourselves that we are ‘fair-evaluaters’ (just in case previously we’ve formed an opinion unfairly and just got stuck with that opinion ever since). If we humans have intellectual advantages over other life forms we too can weigh things ‘fairly’. If that’s in place nothing can go wrong. Change tests the differences … and isn’t that what vegans are trying to do? To find out what exactly are the differences between omnivore-mentality and vegan-mentality. That’s all that stands in the way of human development, surely?
Change is the key here, not dramatic change but a bubbling sense of change going on all the time. An opening up of the receptors to whateer is coming in. Our effort is surely to keep our attitudes fluid and growing and on the move. We need to be constantly readjusting things, underlining things. Ethics is like a shopping list. It’s like keeping a well stocked kitchen. We change things around for variety and new experiences. So too should we, with our deep and meaningfuls, our ‘views and attitudes’
Vegan animal advocates (almost) have the responsibility not only to promote plant-based products but to advocate change. There’s a deep rooted fear of change in us all. But there’s a healthiness in change, in getting used to it and ‘getting over’ it ... getting to where it becomes de rigeur. I’m thinking about doing some things without thinking, almost. An auto-piloted yet fluid sort of human!
Everything benefits from a little heat-of-change but it’s not an easy sell. Change is so frightening to us that nothing will shift attitude. Opinions might have been rehearsed all our life and are now stuck. It often takes a dramatic illness or near death experiences to jolt us into change … and then it’s done reluctantly.
Since change is almost the same as fresh air, we can enjoy it and then, so help me, we can go on to see why we need it in our lives.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Habit trouble
Friday 18th June 2010
Habits are like friends - we rely on them, we’re familiar with them but they can be trouble. Try changing a habit and a little voice says “oh no you don’t”. If we try changing a habit there’s almost a suggestion that we’re tinkering with our own internal balance. We’ve become so identified with our habits that we hardly notice that they, under cover of our ‘personality’, control our behaviour. Fiddle with a habit and you reveal a dangerous intention TO CHANGE … and “change” always means trouble.
There are two types of trouble: the noticeable trouble that springs up immediately when we intend to change and the sort of trouble that come later, when the changes are set in and they start affecting everything about us. “Trouble” is something we try to avoid, and yet what are vegans doing? They give up heaps of favourite foods (troubling at first) and then set out to confront people and persuade them to change - if you want trouble, there’s no better way to bring it on! But by causing trouble and then making change (for ourselves at least) it’s a freeing process and eventually becomes an attractive process, especially when habits become more fluid.
Habits are like friends - we rely on them, we’re familiar with them but they can be trouble. Try changing a habit and a little voice says “oh no you don’t”. If we try changing a habit there’s almost a suggestion that we’re tinkering with our own internal balance. We’ve become so identified with our habits that we hardly notice that they, under cover of our ‘personality’, control our behaviour. Fiddle with a habit and you reveal a dangerous intention TO CHANGE … and “change” always means trouble.
There are two types of trouble: the noticeable trouble that springs up immediately when we intend to change and the sort of trouble that come later, when the changes are set in and they start affecting everything about us. “Trouble” is something we try to avoid, and yet what are vegans doing? They give up heaps of favourite foods (troubling at first) and then set out to confront people and persuade them to change - if you want trouble, there’s no better way to bring it on! But by causing trouble and then making change (for ourselves at least) it’s a freeing process and eventually becomes an attractive process, especially when habits become more fluid.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Change with a touch of pizazz
If there’s something we want to change, something big we’d like to see changing in our self and by extension in our society, we’d have to focus on what change gets us into.
Change can mean having to go the long way round, being patient, thinking along the lines of “better to prevent than cure”. Ideally change would be motivated by a sense of great-improvements-to-come, and it would be something we’d enjoy it. We’ll enjoy changing all the more if it’s done with some pizzazz. It all comes down to style. If the way we change is optimistic, creative and enthusiastic, what can possibly stand in its way or discourage others to change?
Often though we change out of fearing-worse-to-come. We might feel a compulsion to ‘do’ it, with grit and determination. The potential enjoyment of change is spoiled by the grumbling and the reluctance. Changing certain types of habits is as daunting as changing certain types of friends - they don’t like it. Habits feel unchangeable, and even the intention-to-change depends on mood - if we feel up-beat we’ll accept the challenge and take on change in the spirit of taking on the world … but it isn’t always like that! In another sort of mood we might only consider changing habits to save our own skin. (Like giving up red meat after suffering a heart attack)
Whatever our mood or motivation we should ask our self if we think change is attractive or a turn-off? It depends on what it is that we’re changing, but say it’s one of the classic habits, the addictive habit or rigid attitude. Changing these habits is hard despite the promise of good returns for our future.
In the vegan drive towards ‘humanising humans’ we have to sell the importance of change, but more importantly we need to be absolutely clear about what we’re saying, of course, but behind that is a person talking to another person. Anyone can understand the message we are putting out but it’s the ‘how’ of saying it that tips the balance. If it can be done firmly but gently it will impact, if only because it is in contrast to the usual finger-wagging, evangelical, make-‘em-afraid approach.
The prospect of becoming a more humane human should make change seem attractive – specifically, enjoying a vegan-principled life contrasting with the rut most people are in.
Change can mean having to go the long way round, being patient, thinking along the lines of “better to prevent than cure”. Ideally change would be motivated by a sense of great-improvements-to-come, and it would be something we’d enjoy it. We’ll enjoy changing all the more if it’s done with some pizzazz. It all comes down to style. If the way we change is optimistic, creative and enthusiastic, what can possibly stand in its way or discourage others to change?
Often though we change out of fearing-worse-to-come. We might feel a compulsion to ‘do’ it, with grit and determination. The potential enjoyment of change is spoiled by the grumbling and the reluctance. Changing certain types of habits is as daunting as changing certain types of friends - they don’t like it. Habits feel unchangeable, and even the intention-to-change depends on mood - if we feel up-beat we’ll accept the challenge and take on change in the spirit of taking on the world … but it isn’t always like that! In another sort of mood we might only consider changing habits to save our own skin. (Like giving up red meat after suffering a heart attack)
Whatever our mood or motivation we should ask our self if we think change is attractive or a turn-off? It depends on what it is that we’re changing, but say it’s one of the classic habits, the addictive habit or rigid attitude. Changing these habits is hard despite the promise of good returns for our future.
In the vegan drive towards ‘humanising humans’ we have to sell the importance of change, but more importantly we need to be absolutely clear about what we’re saying, of course, but behind that is a person talking to another person. Anyone can understand the message we are putting out but it’s the ‘how’ of saying it that tips the balance. If it can be done firmly but gently it will impact, if only because it is in contrast to the usual finger-wagging, evangelical, make-‘em-afraid approach.
The prospect of becoming a more humane human should make change seem attractive – specifically, enjoying a vegan-principled life contrasting with the rut most people are in.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Enjoying change
I suggested to a friend he might consider changing some of his habits. “It’s a bit late now” … and I heard this from a 25 year old!
At whatever age change happens it can improve everything for us but often it’s too little, too late. Or we change-go-mad and do something so radical that we don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of keeping it up.
Competition with other humans plays a big part here – if change isn’t going to help us win status it won’t seem like such a good idea. Because we regard self development as a competitive sport, success becomes more important than the actual enjoyment of it. We don’t enjoy the process of change which gets us success. We race one another to be more special, more rich, more well known, revered, liked and so on. Change is supposed to be enjoyable, the very process, risk, uncertainty, that’s the essence of it. It isn’t to be confused with teeth grindingly hard self discipline. Change is a teacher keeping us creative, keeping us on our toes and giving life an edge. It draws us into a less judgemental attitude. Change is ever forgiving because the best change must involves mistakes and misjudgements. If Change were our teacher it would be patient enough to appreciate even a little movement in the human.
At whatever age change happens it can improve everything for us but often it’s too little, too late. Or we change-go-mad and do something so radical that we don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of keeping it up.
Competition with other humans plays a big part here – if change isn’t going to help us win status it won’t seem like such a good idea. Because we regard self development as a competitive sport, success becomes more important than the actual enjoyment of it. We don’t enjoy the process of change which gets us success. We race one another to be more special, more rich, more well known, revered, liked and so on. Change is supposed to be enjoyable, the very process, risk, uncertainty, that’s the essence of it. It isn’t to be confused with teeth grindingly hard self discipline. Change is a teacher keeping us creative, keeping us on our toes and giving life an edge. It draws us into a less judgemental attitude. Change is ever forgiving because the best change must involves mistakes and misjudgements. If Change were our teacher it would be patient enough to appreciate even a little movement in the human.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Radical change
How can radical change work for us? The thought of making big changes in our life, especially when they may not be understood by others, frightens us. Ethical principles seems to rule out behaviours we’ve grown accustomed to. Over the years we’ve acquired habits that make life easier but on closer inspection many are unethical. They need to be dropped, ugghh!, and we know it and everyone knows it, and everyone still does it.
To radically alter a habit, especially a habit concerning three-times-a-day food, isn’t so easy; If we feel like a failure in life, and probably most of us do, going vegan will probably turn out to be yet another failure. Can we afford to take that risk.
Going vegan -‘fail’ - me fail bigtime, me trying to ‘go vegan’.
For a start, I don’t think I can kick my favourite habits. Truth to tell, I don’t want to kick them. I prefer to continue being as I am until one day when things start to go wrong, then I’ll change. I will change but all in good time.
As our body fails and we see, for instance, that our eating habits are making us ill. We’re even then still reluctant to change. It’s the pleasure association we can’t let go of … but the body fails nonetheless and we wonder what I’ facing for the rest of my life? Not only can I not ignore symptoms (of the ageing body’s failings) but I can’t face the upheaval of “change”.
To radically alter a habit, especially a habit concerning three-times-a-day food, isn’t so easy; If we feel like a failure in life, and probably most of us do, going vegan will probably turn out to be yet another failure. Can we afford to take that risk.
Going vegan -‘fail’ - me fail bigtime, me trying to ‘go vegan’.
For a start, I don’t think I can kick my favourite habits. Truth to tell, I don’t want to kick them. I prefer to continue being as I am until one day when things start to go wrong, then I’ll change. I will change but all in good time.
As our body fails and we see, for instance, that our eating habits are making us ill. We’re even then still reluctant to change. It’s the pleasure association we can’t let go of … but the body fails nonetheless and we wonder what I’ facing for the rest of my life? Not only can I not ignore symptoms (of the ageing body’s failings) but I can’t face the upheaval of “change”.
Cleaning up our act
Monday 14th June 2010
We are modern and untouched by old fashioned ways of dealing with problems. We laugh at the stupidity of using war to settle differences. But we still use the same principle, force, to get what we want today. We still quarrel and deny respect. We still grab what we can and become destructive. It doesn’t seem like real war, there’s no blood spilt (none that we can see anyway) but much harm still done in the hardening of our approach to solving problems and dealing with others. Whatever we do that uses force and violence is at least as stupid as war.
We need to see those situations where humanity could work, how the gentle touch can overcome difficulties and where the aggro element can be dropped. Our intention to clean up our act might need to start very close to home, with routine matters (in the way we speak to each other, in the boycotting of violent foods) and moves on towards what might seem an ‘impossibly clean’ attitude. If we avoid all temptation to go hard, to ignore the background brutality in what we do, life becomes incredibly simple and before we know it we’ve cleaned up our act.
We are modern and untouched by old fashioned ways of dealing with problems. We laugh at the stupidity of using war to settle differences. But we still use the same principle, force, to get what we want today. We still quarrel and deny respect. We still grab what we can and become destructive. It doesn’t seem like real war, there’s no blood spilt (none that we can see anyway) but much harm still done in the hardening of our approach to solving problems and dealing with others. Whatever we do that uses force and violence is at least as stupid as war.
We need to see those situations where humanity could work, how the gentle touch can overcome difficulties and where the aggro element can be dropped. Our intention to clean up our act might need to start very close to home, with routine matters (in the way we speak to each other, in the boycotting of violent foods) and moves on towards what might seem an ‘impossibly clean’ attitude. If we avoid all temptation to go hard, to ignore the background brutality in what we do, life becomes incredibly simple and before we know it we’ve cleaned up our act.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Empire
The human empire has one special weapon, the intellect; we have the ability to review the situation and design our own life style. We had to discover how exploiting resources always ends in tears. Now that that particular penny has dropped we don’t do ‘exploitation’ and hopefully we can move on to build respect. So far we’ve crapped in our own nest and that needs to be reversed. Our attitude needs to shift from the grab-what-you-can, bargain basement mentality to respect. Up to now most ventures didn’t operate on respecting the resource. In the grabbing came the damage. But the element of delusion was always strong, that we were making progress, and now that bubble has burst. The exploited-world is blowing up in our face.
If we are going to change, surely any change must include respecting each other more (as well as respecting the rights of non humans). Once that ‘attitude’ is set in place the really interesting work of redesigning our world can start - designing a more sustainable way of feeding, sheltering and warming ourselves without rape, pillage, exploitation or empire-building.
If we are going to change, surely any change must include respecting each other more (as well as respecting the rights of non humans). Once that ‘attitude’ is set in place the really interesting work of redesigning our world can start - designing a more sustainable way of feeding, sheltering and warming ourselves without rape, pillage, exploitation or empire-building.
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