Connecting with non-vegan family members

Keep love in your heart (public domain)

This blog is about the positive side of being vegan. It's about seeing the connections and connecting with your vegan friends to make things better for everyone. Still, it's hard to do that when there are naysayers around every corner, especially when some of them are the people you love most in the world. I'm positive about my lifestyle choice. That being said, I'm also pretty sure that I'm not the only vegan with disappointing connections to certain family members.

I could rant about how bad some family members make me feel.

I could talk about how I'm concerned for their health or their refusal to become more informed in the name of tradition and their love of meat and dairy. That would accomplish nothing, other than to amplify my feelings and make them feel bad in the process. The point is that due to the fact that I am admittedly and happily unconventional and outspoken concerning my views, there are two family members that I have had “words” with.

I still care about them. We just don't speak to each other unless we have to. When we do, it's awkward to say the least. It has become a battle of who's right and who's wrong, even when we're on a totally different subject. It always comes back around to our differences. I find it very sad and heart breaking.

How can I make a positive connection with these non-vegan family members?

Here is my solution. No matter what they say or do, I will face them with love in my heart and a smile on my face. I will not be the better person, because no one is better than anyone else. I will, however, be the best person I can be. I will practice what I preach. I will live my life in a loving way. I will do no harm because ultimately, that is the entire reason I chose the path of veganism to begin with.

And life will go on.

I will continue to be ecstatically happy with my choices. I will extol the virtues of a cruelty free lifestyle until I take my last breath. I will eat delicious vegan food that's seeped in life and does no harm. I will be thankful that I have taken the time to educate myself and others on the many virtues and benefits of going vegan. I will be happier, know that I have done all I can to make our connection a positive one, be it reciprocated or not.

Most of all, I will not hold my head high out of snobbishness, self-righteousness or some sort of twisted superiority complex, but out of respect, love, peace and contentment.

Isn't that the whole point of being vegan, after all?