ON BECOMING A VEGAN WARRIOR

I heard the term Vegan Warrior for the first time on Veganpalooza 2013, an online Vegan Conference that I tuned into last summer. It was hosted by two prominent people in the vegan community, for whom I have a great deal of respect.

It was while listening to some of the interviews that I first realized the magnitude and depth of the vegan community. It is a vital community working together toward the one and oh, so important goal of freeing nonhuman animals from modern day bondage. I am so amazed by and thankful to these people who have such a wealth of knowledge and wisdom about Veg

I was particularly impressed with an interview of Dr. Jameth Sheridan, who is a leading naturopathic doctor and plant based health researcher in the United States. He is vegan and approaches North America’s health issues from a vegan perspective-that we must stop the enslavement, torture and murder of nonhuman animals in this world. From there will flow all good things for humans in the form of good health and strength for us, as well as for our planet.

He encourages everyone to be a Vegan Warrior-emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually! Dr. Sheridan believes that one of the best arguments we can make for promoting Veganism is to look the part-to be as strong as we can possibly be in every way that counts. In his own words, taken from a Veganpalooza interview with Steve Prussack:

A true warrior, which to me in its highest form is a vegan warrior, is kind to others, even kind to non-warriors, kind to animals, and kind to the Earth, unselfish, caring, and lives consciously by a code of ethics and honor, such as bushido like the samurai, or chivalry like the knights, yet at the same time is completely willing to stand up for those who need it and unleash a fury of appropriate force should that be required. A vegan warrior is conscious of all the choices he’s made in life, and is open-minded. The world needs more vegan warriors, and if you’re not a vegan warrior, and you want to be, I invite you to become one.”

Now, we all know that following a healthy diet and lifestyle will not makes us taller, or change the colour of our eyes or change our hair from curly to straight. But we can do a lot to look and feel our best. And yes, it takes work, but if we can get through the tough part of surviving the symptoms associated with the changes we make, then the work is well worth it.

For me, the trick is to accept that there will be symptoms, that it is okay to have symptoms and that they are actually a sign that one’s body is eliminating, adapting, healing and growing stronger in all the good ways.

What are some of the symptoms associated with my quest to be a Vegan Warrior? you say- sore muscles from exercising, a little fatigue from getting back to cardio, sadness over the loss of vegan butter in my life (LOL) and the list goes on.

But, I have a goal. And that is to be the very best that I can be with the body, spirit and mind that I was given-in other words, the very best version of me. I want to be able to keep up (everything is relative) with my grandchildren, to have energy to spare, to feel strong, to wake up in the morning excited about the day ahead. In the wise words of my sista friend sister-in-law:

Anne, when I wake in the morning and my feet hit the floor, I can’t have anything holding me back.

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Now, it is no secret to my readers that I am a lady of a certain age (61, but who is counting?), hence the name of my blog. But, I am learning that age does not have to define who I am. In the study of human biology there are two important markers for aging.

Primary aging– another term for biological aging, or genetically influenced declines that affect all members of our species and take place even in the context of overall good health.

Secondary aging – declines due to hereditary defects and negative environmental influences, such as poor diet, lack of exercise, disease, substance abuse, environmental pollution and psychological stress.

 Wouldn’t we all like to be part of only the first inevitable process?  We are all getting older, one day at a time. That we can’t change, but what about changing how we do it?