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Vegetarian principles comprise more than simple dietary constraints. Its philosophy surpasses the kitchen/dining room parameters and has found its way into deep-rooted conversations on politics, the environment and even spirituality.
I personally do not have a problem with people who have a vegetarian lifestyle. In fact, I was a herbivore myself for 2 years. But I do have a problem with vegetarians who impose their "vegetarian-ish" values on others. I am sure you know what I mean because everyone has felt the glare from a vegetarian merely for using a plastic container. In addition, you’ve probably come across several vegetarians who tend to speak out on several issues, not necessarily related to food, who truly believe they are right all the time! And quite a few non meat-eaters I know are extremely fundamental and dogmatic about almost everything under the sun. I see that a culture of vegetarians who portray self-righteousness and superiority is increasingly growing. Dang it! It's so annoying! Do they really have the right to take a moral high ground?
A woman I used to work with was a proactive vegetarian and made known her issues whenever someone heated up meat in the microwave or forgot to recycle a can. It amazed me how oblivious she was to the friction that occurred every time she impressed her views upon the staffroom. Understandably, this woman wasn’t well liked around the workplace. She did not know that by attacking others she was losing respect and making herself look bad. So, this makes me wonder. Why do vegetarians so often feel the need to preach? It's a completely backward and hypocritical line of attack. As far as I know, they see themselves as loving, sympathetic and humane. But often they ridicule, judge and sneer at others. I would say some vegetarians can be fanatical extremists who are no worse than sinister, evangelical leaders. Which brings me to the woman I worked with. I later learned that her father is a pasture. I heard her tell me how rigid and unapproachable he was. Funny to think how 'the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree' for that family.
Like I said I have nothing against the vegan/vegetarian lifestyle. Only I can’t stand those who take up a holier than thou, elitist attitude. Attacking others and putting them down, it only makes you look like an ass!
Pain and fear are not the only methods of growth; you can more elegantly grow through joy and love ~Lazaris
It’s fairly easy for me to remember personal experiences when something good came out of something bad. It’s probably not difficult for you to recall some examples either. My failed relationships taught me about unfulfilled needs, my dull jobs pointed me to follow my inner passion and many of my wrong choices led me to take responsibility. And whatever that bad thing was, I often ended up coming out stronger. But it’s a lot hard to remember learning a lesson from a joyful, encouraging moment. Indeed, there are limited examples for that one. And this may be owing to the lack of positive-reinforcement in my life, and I would go as far to say in our society. The truth is we all want good, affirmative experiences, but unfortunately we tend to focus on the negatives. It’s not all that surprising though, because our world zooms in on the negative: the media, quite a few teachers, the finger wagging boss and at times even our parents. It’s a belief. Our society believes that lessons need to be learned from bad actions and bad behavior. That’s just the way it is. It’s a shame nontheless, that we don't believe more in the power of positivity.
A whole season had passed by without a single posting, and the truth is I feel rather guilty. Needless to say, there hasn’t been much to write about. Fortunately for you, I won’t tell you how crazy busy I’ve been with my new job and I dare not annoy you with an account of my very humdrum autumn and Christmas. No, I won’t bore you with the inane drab details of my life. Obviously, that’s not what you want to read about. So, I’ll try something different.
Today is Thursday: my favorite day of the week. Very soon, the weekend will fill up the rest of what some people may describe as the dreariest, rainiest, heck even most depressing week of the year. I declare that we need more "things" to celebrate! Could it be Post Holiday Season Depression (P.H.S.D.) that has me in a funk? I know that I am not alone. Oh no, let me tell you that Vancouverites are also depressed. I see it! Their faces are not those of happy people. Not to mention that spring is still another 3 months away and despondency is starting to settle in. Sadly, it’s not different from what I am used to. I have lived here all my life: grey skies and grey faces are the norm.
So, I made a list of things to do, things to celebrate as a way of getting me through this lackluster winter. To my fellow Post Holiday Season Depressives..try these picker-uppers:
• Start a blog; seriously your creative side will thank you
• Clean out your closet
• Find your new favorite band, buy their CD and burn me a copy!
• Cook a new dish you never made before.
• Exfoliate your whole body; trust me it feels great!
• Attend Yuk Yuks with friends; get drunk and laugh to your heart’s content
• Put on rain gear and stomp in puddles like you did when you were 5 years old
• Buy an exotic fruit; savor it as you dream of someplace tropical.
• Go to a sauna and sweat out your angst!
• Frame a picture and hang it.
• Dance, dance dance!
• Try your hand at Sudoko; it’s challenging and very addictive!
Of course, there’s so much more out there and these are merely a few of my suggestions. What about you? What pulls you out of your funk? Go ahead and add your idea(s) because those lifeless faces really do need brightening up.
