On Veganism

There are numerous ways to approach the subject, but I have chosen to do it on a philosophical level.

I believe somewhere along the line of industrialism and the development of science human beings fell asleep. We shifted our consciousness to the brain, and like cutting off a limb we shut off our hearts. I don't mean to demonise the brain or the logical thinking in any way, but I want to point out that that form of thinking only works with certain matters - things such as finance, schedules, risk analysis and so on. But for some reason human beings are now under the illusion of being able to decide matters of the heart with mathematical thinking. We look for a partner like we are looking for the perfect pair of jeans. We try to fill our lives by filling our homes. We try to find truth by reading the news. We kill to find peace. 

Even still, us human beings are magnificent creatures with absolutely amazing abilities. The most beautiful and most significant quality we possess is the ability to change, evolve, completely rise above the former self, and the ego. I have full faith that anyone who rediscovers that connection to the heart, and through that the connection to the higher self, will very quickly learn how to see right from wrong and choose love over fear. And most importantly, learn to have love for ourselves. That love, that connection is where all truth stems from. It is as if a flame was born. An incredibly bright light born in the darkness that changes everything, sheds faith and beauty all around. And it is up to us every day to actively protect that flame, to choose to live with the light, to see in the darkness.

However, without light we cannot even separate darkness from light. If we choose not to live by the very values that make us human, if we choose not to see what compassion, love, and justice for all means, then we cannot truly see the ignorance, the fear and the injustice in the world either. This is why we need to learn another way, to look at the world through our hearts. That is where veganism comes along. For once we understand that all beings tremble before violence, we understand that we are one. We feel the suffering of all beings.

There is a word in the ancient language of Sanscrit that describes it perfectly: 'ahimsa' - to do no harm. Nonviolence towards our fellow creatures as well as ourselves is the core message of veganism.

And it is not as if people were not thoughtful or compassionate. The society we were born in just seems to feed our egos and it has shaped most of us to live solely for ourselves. Our world promotes values that make us choose price over quality, easy solution over hard work, ignorance over compassion, law over morality and lies over truth. Those of us who see the bigger picture, who question the mainstream western way of life, who actually feel agony for the wrong in the world, have most likely lost hope for the humankind by now, let alone ourselves. But it is never too late to light up that little flame in the dark. 

Becoming vegan was the first step I took towards truth, and it completely revolutionised my well-being. It only makes sense, for until we practice what we preach, we cannot feel peace, we cannot be true to ourselves. If we believe in compassion, why wouldn't we live by it? As Lao Tzu said, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.

The Miracle of Being Alive

Ask yourself, when is the last time you have woken up with your body completely buzzing with energy? Every molecule of your being just bursting with vitality. Your eyes in absolute awe of the trillion pixel colour display in front of you, hungry to explore this immense world surrounding you. Your feet excited to pick up your weight and carry you anywhere your heart desires. Your ears curious and ready to receive any information the world is going to transmit to your frequencies. Your lungs eager to fill you up with tremendous life force, bringing your mind clarity, your spirit peace, and your body strength. Your heart beating with incredible ease, directing the flow of life inside your veins like the master conductor of a symphony orchestra, creating a miraculous rhythm, the music that makes us and keeps us alive. Your whole being just radiating with joy and gratitude of having woken up to its magical existence.

This is the living organism that we are. The marvellous creature, human being.

So why, then, most of us nearly never feel this way? Somehow we have been made to think it is normal for our bodies to be tired, our minds uninspired, and our spirits low. No. We have descended to the level of a zoo human being.

If you really start thinking about it, it makes absolutely perfect sense. Our lives are completely upside down. We are blessed with this incredible body of muscles, bones and connective tissues, yet we barely ever use it. Instead, we sit in cars and buses to move to places, sit in the office at work, and sit on the sofa at home. Our intricately designed complex system needs a myriad of minerals, vitamins, enzymes and proteins to run, yet we eat dead food, and drink dead water. Our brains and blood need plenty of fresh air, but we spend most of our days indoors. How is it any wonder that we don’t feel good, if we live a life that is not meant for human beings?

What about our spirit? It is completely normal for us to take a two-week holiday to an amazing country and feel happy and alive, and come back home to feel nowhere nearly as good for the rest of the year. We have been brainwashed to accept misery in our lives. We have been made slaves. We do not live to survive like every other species, we live to work and to make money. Day in and day out we are fed unhealthy information about how to live our lives. Which evil bank to go to, which messed up insurance policy to apply for, what child labour produced clothes to buy, what cancer creating and completely nutrition dead food to eat, what make up made out of industrial waste to use.

If we are conditioned to be miserable, to live a life in the zoo, how are we supposed to be able to care about anything? How could we care about the pollution, the poverty, the crisis in Ukraine if we don’t even care about our own existence?

So I challenge myself and you to look deeply into your life, and stop the misery. Quit your job, move to the countryside, build a school, start an orphanage, make music, learn to surf, go vegan, find meaning! Do what it takes! Get out of the zoo!