Connecting with....everything

Come in peace, always (public domain)

In the last post, I talked about how after going vegan, my brain started going off with rapid fire connections. I now look at the world, society and everything else within human reality very differently. I still have a long way to go, though. I'm not there yet. Not by a long shot. I believe there are threads of energy connecting everyone and everything in existence and connecting with those threads is so freeing, so beautiful that it cannot be comprehended.

Sometimes I raise my hands to the sky and picture the giant web that connects us all reaching out for me and coursing into my soul. It makes me feel more a part of things than I have ever felt in conventional human society. I feel the same connection when I touch a tree or work the soil in my garden or feel the hand of one of my grand-kids in mine.

In fact, I'm slowly realizing that this false world we have created for ourselves is taking us further and further away from the natural world and who we were intended to be (the longer we let it go on and nourish it and serve it). Does that make me seem like a whack job? I don't know. And frankly, I don't care. The truth is more important to me.

The broken connections are poetically heart-breaking to me. I hate seeing the way we treat other creatures as inferior or even the way we treat each other. It sickens me. We could have so much if we would simply embrace who we really are and be good to each other.

As long as we continue to label and separate each other from the “pack”, we will never reach our full potential. We will never know how fulfilling life can be when it's lived in unison. Because, my friends, we were never meant to be separate. We are one. Yes, we are individuals in some respects, but only like our fingers are individual, yet just a part of who we are.

So yes, maybe I appear to be a little crazy with my vegan “nonsense” and my habit of reaching out to strengthen those invisible threads. Maybe people who are heavily indoctrinated into this so called human society we have invented for ourselves don't get me. That's OK. I get myself. I like the way I do things. I like that I do my very best to do no harm. I like that I relate better to people like me than I do to people who think conventionally. I'm OK with that.

I wish everyone could feel the connections. Some do. As for the rest, well, I hope they come around. Mother Earth is calling to you. Are your ears, hearts and minds open enough to hear her cries?

If so, please reach out. Reach out with kindness, love and respect. Reach out with compassion and understanding. Make the connection between your individual actions and the changes that occur in the world. All of them. Connect with nature, with each other and with all the good things in the world. Strengthen your ties to Mother Earth and loosen the threads that connect you with the anger, hatred, bigotry, speciesism, greed and gluttony we have created by being “civilized”.

Take only what you need. Give back all that you can. And please, please, please, stop the violence. It breaks the connections. It's always wrong, no matter which “side” you are on. Because as long as you are on a side, you can't feel the connections that bind us all and keep us alive, thriving and joyous.

Eventually, some time before my body and my energy permanently join the natural world I came from, I hope to be connected with everything. I hope to embrace the vast unity of all nature and feel all of it's beauty. How about you?

Rapid fire vegan connections

My brain on vegan (public domain photo)

This blog is not just for my readers. It's for me too. Since I began it, my brain has been going crazy with rapid fire connections. Every time I write another post, I'm reminded of another connection to, of, about or related with veganism. It's quite exciting, really.

Why do I find connections so exciting?

The world is full of them. They are what makes us thrive, survive and click. They bring us prosperity and thankfulness. They bring us awareness, love and light. Connections are at the heart of every single thing we do, say or accomplish.

What's so special about vegan connections?

Well, vegan connections are nearly always positive. When they're not, they bring about positive change. That makes them among the best of all connections one could possibly make. In fact, every time I make a new vegan connection, something wonderful happens in my life or in my attitude or in my perspective.

Connections are freeing.

One would think that being connected to a huge network of energy, relationships, thoughts, etc. would be restricting. Actually, just the opposite is true. Connections reveal all the possible roads on can travel down and how they relate to each other. It's exciting!

I'm so glad that I started writing this blog.

So what if it doesn't make me a millionaire? Why should I care? The connections I'm making are worth far more than that. They take me on a different journey and a new reality every single day of my life. You guys, I'm so glad to be vegan. It's brought me so much more than appears on the surface. Vegan for life!

Make the kindness connection, even with ass-hats

Speak vegan with your heart! (public domain)

Just kidding of course, no one is a complete ass-hat. Everyone has some redeeming qualities. Heck, there are even vegan ass-hats. I came across a few of them the other day arguing over the definition of veganism and who was more vegan or truly vegan or the veganist person in the group. How ridiculous! The point is that as vegan, we are here to promote kindness, not hatred.

It's OK to hate the behavior.

It's alright to be mad at the way we have evolved as a species. Just try not to take it out on those who don't see the issue. Maybe they are mired in tradition. Maybe they're just not interested. Maybe they know about the impact a meat and dairy based diet has and refuse to change. Maybe they'll come around. Maybe they won't. Whatever the case, it's not right to be cruel to them. Treating these folks badly only serves to prove that vegans are just a bunch of superior ass-hats ourselves.

And speaking of vegans....

Those vegan ass-hats can be a real downer. I try my best not to be one of them. I try to promote my beliefs without jabs or sarcasm. I didn't always do that. It's gotten me into some trouble. I've lost some friends and family members because of it. The good news is that the ones I lost had already made the choice to lose me long ago. I've always been kind of different, you know? I don't think like other people and they hate that. Anyway....

Be nice to people.

It's the best way to show how much your life has improved since going vegan. It's the best advertisement we have. We want people to embrace our cause, not run from it. If we keep scaring them off, this planet and everyone on it is doomed. So, it's kind of important, you know? And maybe even more important is our unity.

Stop being mean to other vegans.

Good heavens. Some of those vegan chats, forums and comment sections are downright ugly. Why on earth are we creating categories for ourselves within the vegan community? Why are we not just happy to find like-minded people who are journeying toward full fledged veganism. Isn't that what we want? Of course it is. So stop badgering and bullying other vegans, even if they haven't quite gone full fledged vegan yet. You're not better than they are or more vegan because you have. Plus, you're making us look bad. Be nice!

Give me veggies or give me death

Veggies and fruits = life! (public domain photo)

Last post, I mentioned that the statement, “Give me veggies or give me death” is true in many ways. This post, I'd like to talk about what I meant by that, both including and aside from the obvious.

Being vegan means rejecting death and suffering for other animals

That's the obvious part. By going vegan we refuse to cause the death of other animals to produce “food” and other animal products. And yes, I know that there are some deaths related to vegetable production as well. However, those related to animal production far outweigh them.

It also means rejecting human suffering.

So much of what we grow is used in animal production that it's absolutely ludicrous. If we ate that food directly, rather than recycling it through animals, we could feed all the starving people in the world several times over. Plus, there's the issue of our life giving water supply. It takes a lot of it to feed all those animals we over-breed for food. It would go much further to water produce if we all ate a vegan diet.

Being vegan brings us good health.

When we eat more veggies we have less room for the bad stuff. Fewer people would be dying early from heart attacks and organ related diseases. It's even been proven that cancer may be linked to meat and dairy based diet. In my own life, I have seen how going vegan has improved my Lupus issues with reduced inflammation and improved circulation. I hardly need my medication any more. Soon, I may be able to go without it at all.

Eating veggies keeps the planet alive and well.

Dead zones surrounding factory farming operations have extinguished all life for hundreds and hundreds of miles. Animal waste from meat and dairy production is filling our water supply with nitrates that consume life supporting oxygen. Methane from factory farms is threatening our ozone. Farming is the number one environmental threat to this planet.

Eat your organic, GMO free fruits and veggies.

They don't fill our water supply with chemicals and waste products. They don't promote the over-breeding of animals that sets nature off balance. They don't hurt anyone. They only bring life. Choose veggies. Choose life.

Going vegan is an adventure, not a sacrifice

Romanesco broccoli Yum! (public domain photo)

When people think of going vegan, they often focus on what they have to give up. Maybe that's the reason so many don't stay vegan. They never really connect with the fact that they have opened up a whole new world of food and lifestyle exploration. They never connect with what going vegan does for their spiritual well being.

Being vegan is great for self esteem and just plain feeling good.

I wake up every morning knowing that no one dies or suffers to fill my plate or produce the goods that I buy. What could be better? Rather than being at the top of the so-called food chain that we humans invented, I live in harmony with every single other creature on the planet. Like other animals, I do my best to do no harm because since going vegan, I've also reinforced my other goal of having less of a negative impact on the planet and more of a positive one.

I embrace being an animal.

Human society has pretty much turned us into something we're not. I'm glad to have a roof over my head and yes, I'm glad society has brought us medical care and other creature comforts. What I'm not glad of is that we have gotten to a point where we are so distanced from nature that we are downright miserable. That's not how it's supposed to be. Going vegan has brought me a deeper understanding of how humans really do fit into the planetary network. I'm OK with being the human animal that I was intended to be. I'm OK with living just far enough outside of society that I'm able to reconnect with nature. In fact, I'm not just OK with it, I revel in it.

Being vegan is like being a food explorer.

Every meal is an adventure in new tastes and textures. Since going vegan I've tried so many new fruits and veggies that I can't possibly list them. Conventional foodies have no idea what they're missing. Without all the grease, gore, pain and suffering, the vegan plate is alive with flavor. Vegetables and fruits are just bursting with yum! Smothering out the taste with greasy meat and cheese seems like a crime. 

Every day is a new adventure.

Being vegan is never boring. It's a constant learning experience. My mental capacities are always being expanded. My thirst for knowledge is continually satisfied. My thoughts are constantly being challenged and changed. If I lived to be 100, I would still be learning. I look forward to every single day again, just like I did when I was a school kid. That's why I'm always sharing what I learn with others. I want them to wake up every day with the same zest for life that I have.

Give me veggies or give me death. Ha! That's true in many ways, Isn't it?

Perhaps that's my next post. Anyway, if you're going vegan or even if you've been vegan for a long time, try switching your focus to what you have become, rather than what you once were.

Going vegan isn't about what you give up. It's about what you gain!

Connecting with that creepy feeling

This deer was once alive and free (public domain photo)

You know that creepy feeling you get when you watch the old “Planet of the Apes” and the people are all locked up in corrals? Ya, so, that's the same exact feeling vegans get when we see farms, animal production, someone eating meat, dairy or eggs and/or that juicy steak dinner post on Facebook. That's the feeling we get when people talk about hunting or fishing too. It brings chills because we know.

I know this isn't exactly the most positive post. I never said they all would be. Or did I? No matter. What it is, though, is the truth. There are some pretty bad connections that we vegans make in order to come to the conclusion that we should go vegan. We really have to pry our eyes open to see the horrors sometimes in order to make the right choices as compassionate individuals.

For instance:

I wasn't always a vegan. I used to think of farmland as idyllic too. That's because I never really thought beyond cows grazing in pastures. I never really thought about how it feels to be castrated or have your tail cut off or your horns burned off without pain relief. It's quite unsettling, isn't it?

I never really thought about the fact that in order to make cheese, a baby calf has to be taken away from its' mother (and either killed for veal or used for future dairy production) so we can have the milk products or that the dairy industry supports the veal industry. Now that I do know these things, eating dairy feels creepy to me. It makes me feel insensitive.

That same creepy feeling happens when someone talks about how much they love bacon. I know that not everyone knows most male or “imperfect” baby pigs are slammed against a cement floor until dead or that slaughterhouse workers are just as cruel and uncaring to humanely raised pigs as they are to the ones raised on factory farms or that mother pigs grieve for their babies just as much as you and I would. Not everyone knows that mother pigs are kept perpetually pregnant just like mother cows.

I know it's not the fault of the average meat eater that they are conditioned to NOT think about these things even when they do know them because they are told that it's perfectly natural and healthy to eat meat and if they think about it too much they won't be able to do it. And that makes me feel creepy too. Seeing perfectly nice people manipulated always does.

When I hear about someone raising backyard chickens, well, that makes me feel creepy too. They don't know that because they mainly want laying hens, little male chicks are ground alive for lack of demand. They don't know that the unfertilized eggs eaten by humans were actually intended to nourish the hens. They don't know that constantly laying without having that extra calcium to ingest, shortens the life span of the hens as well.

They don't know that the “free-range” farms where they get their brooding hens are, in actuality, just huge, windowless chicken coops packed standing room only. Factory farms are often started using the same suppliers. They don't know that a home chicken coop is also nothing but a prison as far as the hens are concerned. They don't know that the baby brooders have their beaks burned off without anesthetic to keep them from pecking at each other before they are even sold to them. But I do. And it's creepy. I want no part of it.

Hunting and fishing may seem a bit better than farming on the surface. At least those animals aren't imprisoned. To me, though, there is nothing natural about killing another being when there is plenty of food to eat that does not require taking a life. Still, some people actually seem to enjoy it. And, ya, that's creepy too. In fact, I just cannot imagine being directly responsible for killing another creature. I cannot imagine looking a deer or a bear or some other land animal in the eye and taking its' life when it's simply not necessary. Of course, once again, a lot of people are societal convinced that it is indeed necessary. That's not only creepy, but kind of sad. I feel bad for them.

As for fishing and eating seafood, I have learned through endless hours of research that by 2054, the oceans will be essentially fished out. We will then have to rely on factory farmed fish and seafood. It only takes a second to make the connection that tells us that's going to be an unnatural process that will likely further impact the already fragile natural balance that we have already screwed up beyond repair. Isn't it creepy that we're so addicted to consuming animal products in general that we are willing to kill the planet to get them? Um, we kind of need the planet. Just saying.

In fact, the meat and dairy industry is responsible for more pollution than big oil.

What's even creepier? There are some non-vegans who know all these things and still consume meat, fish, dairy and eggs. They still wear leather coats, shoes and furs. Heck, some of the hunters even revel in their “masculinity” or noble hunting “skills”. They actually call hunting and fishing “sports”. There is nothing sporting or noble about sneaking up on or tricking and killing a fellow animal who has no idea they are about to die. There is, however, something very creepy about knowing that all the pain and suffering mentioned in the above paragraphs is very real and still participating in it.

By the way, do you know who else keeps their prey captive, then cuts up the bodies of their victims and freezes them to eat later or saves them as trophies? Serial killers. SO creepy! As Ellen says, “I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They say because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive but I have photographs of her.” So, creepy hunter types, whose mother (or other loved one) is that hanging on your wall?

Make the creepy connections and go vegan.

Vegans not safe from factory farming health issues

Farming pollution impacts us all. (public domain photo)

Vegans who think they are immune to factory farming issues should think again. We are not protected from all the health hazards of factory farms just because we abstain from eating or using animal products. Factory farming has become so prevalent in America that it impacts everyone, vegans included. We once believed we were safe. Sadly, the time has come when even those who are extremely careful about their diet are being poisoned by factory farming.

Factory farming is a term used to describe farms producing animal products, legumes, vegetables or grains in mass quantity with little or no regard for environmental or humanitarian issues. Chemical pesticides, chemical fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics used in mass food production pollute not only the food produced, but also the surrounding environment. That pollution is quickly spreading.

Animal waste is a huge environmental issue. Animal waste products from factory farming runoff are carried into our waterways. Animal waste is also used frequently to fertilize crops. This spreads contamination far beyond factory farms. Even organic farmers using manure as fertilizer are susceptible to contamination from factory farming. Vegans beware, you are not immune.

In order to list all the appalling facts concerned with factory farming, this post would become a book. Instead I'll attempt to give an overview of the reasons factory farming has become so prevalent that even vegans eating an all organic diet are not safe from the ravages of factory farming. Factory farming is a practice threatening the lives of every person on the planet. It's killing us.

Factory farming runoff is in our water supply. Issues from this include the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria, the death of fish and other wildlife, high levels of nitrates (which cause infants to be born with less than perfect oxygen balancing capabilities), high levels of contaminants, high levels of salt, and high levels of damaging heavy metals. vegans drink this water too.

Farming is a rural industry. In these areas, organic farmers are often neighbors with factory farms. Common sense tells us that if a factory farm is your neighbor, factory farm runoff would be greatly concentrated in your own water supply. Vegans can no longer be guaranteed safety by eating organic produce.

Of course vegans can produce their own vegetables. Use only compost as fertilizer. Use all organic pesticides you make yourself using sterilized bottled water mixed with organic products you have grown yourself. What will you water them with? The same sterilized bottled water? Those would be some expensive vegetables. What about that rain water?

Sorry, folks, rain water is full of contaminants from factory farming too. Why? Rain water is merely evaporated water from our oceans, lakes, ponds and streams. We can't control which ponds and streams that water comes from. It may have even evaporated from that factory farm waste holding lagoon. Nobody is immune from factory farming pollution. Even vegans drink water from factory farm runoff.

For many years, vegans and vegetarians have tried to educate people about the health and environmental hazards of factory farming. We have explained that eating meat from these filthy, disease infested factory farms is literally killing people. Now our advice takes another turn. Factory farming is not just killing meat eaters. It's killing vegans too.

Factory farming is having an astounding and unprecedented impact on vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters alike. The meat and dairy industry would have you think cows are peacefully meandering country pastures. In actuality, animals raised for slaughter live in a few feet of their own filth for their entire lives.

Connect with the facts, fellow vegans. Factory farming has reached a point where the only thing we can do is shut down every factory farm and enact a massive environmental clean up. Will we do it? Probably not. At least not right away. Change on this scale takes time. And as our non-vegan friends like to remind us, the world is not going vegan overnight and besides, they only patronize humane farms. And as we like to remind them, free range farming isn't much better. In fact, in some ways, it's worse.

Farm Sanctuary
Mother Earth News
Grace Communications

This post was previously published by this author on a now closed Yahoo! property. It has been updated and edited for this blog.