Don't Worry, Be Happy
"Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace." ~ Dr Albert Schweitzer 1875-1965
“There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience.” ~ French proverb
All of us want to experience the joyful and meaningful experiences life has to offer. We want to live lives that are free from the kinds of stresses that do physical, mental and emotional damage.
This may seem difficult in a world in which much of what happens seems out of our control; however, as the 12 step groups say: may we have “the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the strength to change the things we can and the wisdom to know the difference.”
One thing we can change is what we consume for food each day and what clothes we wear. These are areas in which most of us are in a position of choice. Since we’ve all grown up in a “herding, hoarding and hurting” culture, one that accepts killing and cruelty to animals as par for the course, this may not occur to us as an option.
We’ve been raised to believe that meat is good for you, that we can’t survive without it, that (non human) animals are inferior and were put on earth to serve us (humans) and that this is the way things have always been and will always be. End of story.
The fact of the matter is, however, that these are myths that need to be dispelled if we as individuals want to be happy and fulfilled and if we are to survive as a species.
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Abraham Lincoln said “To feel good, do good.” I think most would agree that eating animals that have been confined, tortured, deprived of the satisfaction of all their needs and then brutally slaughtered would not be considered “doing good.”
In order to continue in a behavior which causes pain, suffering and death to others, a person has to repress the natural instincts to give and receive the love of ones fellow earthlings.
Melanie Joy, a professor of psychology, in an article entitled: “Food for Thought: Carnism and the Psychology of Eating Meat” said:
Interviewing carnists (meat eaters) and meat cutters, I learned that, in order to eat or process the bodies of other animals, individuals needed to use a degree of "psychic numbing"-the separation of thoughts from feelings and of beliefs from practices. This psychic numbing was expressed through a variety of defense mechanisms. Among the most notable are:
denial ("animals don't really suffer when being raised and killed for meat")
justification ("it's acceptable to eat certain animals because they're bred for that purpose")
avoidance ("don't tell me that; you'll ruin my meal")
dichotomization ("I think of some animals as companions and some as food")
dissociation ("when I look at meat, I don't connect it with an animal-if I did, I would be disgusted and unable to eat it").
She continues … “Psychic numbing, when used to enable violent practices such as carnism, is, arguably, psychologically unhealthy.”
One would think that if consuming dead animals and animal products is emotionally unhealthy, one would stop.
In the book Living Among Meat Eaters, Carol J. Adams describes some of the reasons meat eaters or carnists
persist in this choice, prime among them being fear, fear of becoming sick or weak; fear of being seen as
antisocial or less "manly," etc.
Will Tuttle, who wrote the book The World Peace Diet, Eating for Spiritual Health and Social Harmony further concludes that when we cut ourselves off from our own natural feelings of compassion and empathy, not only is our ability to feel diminished, but also our intelligence.
Since human anatomies are closest to those of other herbivores (see Milton Mill’s “Comparative Anatomy of Eating” http://www.earthsave.ca/articles/health/comparative.html) not eating according to our physiological natures causes stress to the body and the mind as well.
Going vegan (organic of course) allows us to lead happy, fulfilling and meaningful lives without stressing our bodies or repressing our natural connections to our fellow earthlings. Further, once we become vegan, it is incumbent upon us to become and stay active in sharing this message with others.
Not one of us lives in a vacuum. Therefore each of our thoughts, words and deeds impacts others both near and far
and visa versa. Eugene V Debs, (a union leader, one of the founding members of the Inernational Workers of the
World, a candidate for president of the US and one of the best-known Socialists in the US) said:
“… years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better
than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while
there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”
One can and must extend this to all living beings. So don’t worry.
Be happy. Go vegan!