i could probably get in trouble for thinking like this.

[dizziedumb]

after four days pretty much spent entirely inside of the hospital, i'm really glad to be gifted with such a great spring day. last night, somehow, the world was just calling to me. i said no to the AIR show, i said no to the party, and i'd resigned myself to drifting off with ella fitzgerald. a knock on my door came then and it was my neighbor,

Comments

[dizziedumb]

okay, i can understand why my meat-eating friends are getting all in a fluster; when i ate meat, the last thing i wanted to hear was my vegetarian friends telling me about cruelty and death. but we're not sitting over a steaming steak dinner (in fact, i make a point to not discuss this issue unless it is brought to my attention, or to tell someone that i think what they're eating is crap, gross, unhealthy, etc. it's poor taste). however, this just so happens to be my journal, and i am not attacking anyone. these are observations i have made in my various pursuits, which all seem to be linked and flow in the same direction. holistic and preventative health care, right action, mindfulness, and sound diet are all inter-related. we are what we eat. i make no claims for "salads saving humanity." what would help us out, though, would be a broader awareness, a deeper link with every other living thing in our world. food is but one part of that, but it is enmeshed in human culture all over the world, and as such: a considerable part of that equation.

personally, i'm not a fan of putting something's dead, hormone-laden, fear-drenched (what chemicals were released into its bloodstream when it died?) energy into my body. when i gave up meat initially i did it more for dietary health purposes, not ethics. but since doing so, it's gotten so much clearer to me that ethics are tied in, as is spirituality, as is the welfare of the earth.

what it's about is perspective. and if you're not there, you're just not there. that's where you are and that's fine. it's not all about eating salads forever and ever, amen. sick vegetarians exist because, though living without meat, they still eat crap. but you know? that's where they are. i'm not screaming in the street for people to stop churning the wheels of the patriarchal meat/pharmaceutical industry machine (i save that for my blog!), but i've stepped out of it and, as a result, my life continues to improve. unless you step out of it yourself, you simply don't have that perspective.

oh, and hitler was criminally insane. so... yeah.

[sthenic]

As a kid, my family would visit my grandparents at their AMAZING ranch in Pharr Texas, (it's near the very bottom tip of Texas) and he raised his own animals, and yes, some of them were raised for meat, eggs and milk. (he also raised horses and took in stray dogs and cats and and...it was SO fun to be there!)

We'd fish right at the ranch, (maybe 100 yards away) and...those memories are amazing. There was this surreal 'enchanted' swamp on his property, (it was magical at night when the fireflies were out and about) and...it was right out of a storybook. One time, as me and my older bro were walking through the forest/swamp, we saw a HUGE butterfly (moth?) that had a massive wingspan...and it must've been wider that 14 inches...which was the world record for giant butterflies or moths at the time...(I also saw GIGANTIC insects and frogs and and) but...I digress.

Anyway, there was literally a BBQ almost every night, (BIG BBQ's with TONS of family and friends) and...none of the food was artificially processed, etc.

Hah, I'll get back on track... One thing that comes to my mind about your diet is...where do you draw the line? What do you personally think of meat in moderation? I've seen A LOT of vegetarians fall of the wagon, for brief moments, only to beat themselves up, as if it's the end of the world or something.

I LOVE me some fruits and vegetables and and and, but they can be quite...expensive.

Even a sedentary human being NEEDS 0.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass...or else their bodies will consume themselves over time...which can lead to any number of future health problems. (an active person ((i.e. not someone who just sits at a cubicle all day)) needs like... 0.7)

It can be hard to get all of ones protein needs solely through vegetables, etc, ya know?

Also, Whey Protein is proven to be THE best form of protein to take as a supplement. There are numerous forms of protein, (Soy for example) but Whey is the best.

On a related note, yes, processed food = dangerous and gross, but...take eggs for eggsample. (sorry) The regular eggs one buys from the store = death if you don't take out the yolk, (that said, one yolk for every 5 eggs whites is 'ok') but eggs from free range chickens are WAY better. Those types of egg yolks are SO bad to eat vs the others. (but one should still eat mostly the egg whites)

I don't know. I'm rambling, but...I AM A SPIRITUAL MEAT EATER!!! Haha.

:/

Yes, it's your (lovely) journal, but food can be...VERY personal to people.

And obviously, some people don't want to think that you may think lower of them...due to eating meat...because people care about your (lovely lovely) perceptions...

In closing, I am proud of you for improving yourself. <3

If you fall off the wagon, please don't beat yourself up.

You rock.

[starskin]

No, I care about hearing about cruelty and death, because a lot of it is needless and needs to be addressed. I know you're not calling meat-eaters Nazis. I'm also not 'in a fluster'. In a post that I mostly agreed with and found thought-provoking, you drew one parallel that I find problematic on a lot of levels, and I offered a critique. You clearly don't find the parallel problematic, that's all.

OK. I've got to take myself out of this conversation, because I'm going to end up getting my feelings hurt. Like you say, it's a matter of perspective. I love you.