This week someone found my blog by searching, "How going vegan can change your life.”
Now, I’ve never made a specific post about that topic, but immediately I knew that I must. Going vegan has affected nearly every facet of how I live. If that person comes back, here are my answers…
Doctors say that having an enlarged heart is not a good thing. And while a plant-based diet is a very heart healthy one, going vegan has made my heart grow like a certain green, Christmas-stealing cartoon character.
Okay, so I was hardly a Grinch before I went vegan. But I will say that since I adopted a wholly plant-based diet and said sayonara to silk, leather, and wool, my heart has grown at least three sizes.
(Have I gained the strength of ten grinches plus two? Well, at least 9.)
When people find out that I'm vegan, they have all sorts of ideas about why I chose this lifestyle.
An acquaintance recently inferred that I went vegan because I lived in California.
Yes, the restaurants and grocery stores in California certainly make it an enviable place for a vegan to live. But when I trace my steps back to that initial compassion, it goes much further than my first 91201 address.
I went vegan because of a compassion that has always lived in me.
Going vegan is an extension of who I’ve always been.
Just as all of us hate to see others in pain, just as all of us hate to see suffering – going vegan and eschewing foods that are entrenched in the pain of others was a return to my deeper, more authentic self.
The ways that we mistreat animals and/or become numb to their suffering are learned. I abhor violence, especially against those who are powerless.
(Even movies with violence towards the disempowered are too much for me.)
At its most basic, that is veganism - it's a way of removing myself from that violence and that suffering.
Since I adopted a plant-based diet, I feel a deep sense of awe around animals. I appreciate them so much more now.
I recently spent six months living in a cabin on a river. I was able to watch eagles soar, titmouse and cardinals gather seed at the bird feeder, ducks and geese swim in the river, and deer frolic with their families.
From my living room window, I got a peek into their lives, their unimaginable beauty, and the ease at which they do things I can only imagine.
The eagles did victory laps around the river.
The ducks traveled in packs.
The titmouse moved like little animated characters - hopping so quickly in the snow they almost seemed robotic.
The deer carefully watched each other, aware of who was moving and who was staying, who noticed a sound that made them uneasy.
I was an outsider witnessing their lives. It made me feel like I was one small part of this puzzle that is our world.
To see their beauty, how they live their lives and how humans are so seemingly insignificant within those lives, was such a gift.
A bird named Tiny
One day I heard a thud at my window, I went outside and saw a tiny goldfinch laying on her back with her feet stuck straight up in the air. I was instantly worried that she'd died.
I went to her, gently turned her onto her belly, and stared at her intently, willing her to move.
She quivered. She shook. She twitched.
I petted her as gently as I could manage – just one finger on her tiny body. I stayed with her for a couple of hours outside.
As time progressed, she was able to fly – at first just a short distance, then further, then further, until she went to a tree.
Those quiet moments with her - a bird I nicknamed Tiny - were so precious to me.
Obviously, I could have and would have cared about Tiny, even if I hadn't been vegetarian. But somehow, choosing a diet of non-violence makes me feel an interconnectedness that I didn't know before.
A steer named Mario
That is why visiting animal sanctuaries like Farm Sanctuary in California or Iowa Farm Sanctuary is such a profound experience.
Spending time with animals who have suffered at the hands of humans and who have then come to forgive and trust again is an honor.
To sit with them and know the pain they experienced while they currently live in a place of beauty, a place without fear, feels like there is some justice in this world.
I stood next to a steer named Mario - so tall, so commanding in presence. I felt his gentleness with me, his yearning to be loved as he nudged into me to pet him, much like a dog would nuzzle against an arm. And I felt a deep humbleness to be so small next to him.
Mario's mother was a dairy cow. He was born at a dairy farm but left on top of a stack of corpses, because he had an injured leg.
Also, male calves are worthless to the dairy industry, because they cannot be impregnated and then used for their milk.
Mario, who weighed only 45 pounds, was left to die until the driver of the rendering truck, who was there to pick up the bodies of other animals, found him and took him to Farm Sanctuary.
To have suffered so much and then come through the other side to a place of beauty, a place of peace gives Mario a quiet grace about him, an almost palpable soulfulness.
That soulfulness is apparent again and again at Farm Sanctuary. To be near the animals there and glean a moment of that quiet strength, to be uncluttered enough to witness it, is a blessing.
Just as the Grinch thought that if he took away the trappings of Christmas he could end the holiday for the people of Whoville, the television-viewer learns that he had it all wrong. For the citizens who lived there, the holiday was about the togetherness and the spirit of the season.
In life, when we look at veganism it might seem like there is so much to lose - hamburgers, hot dogs, Grandma's casserole…
But what there is to gain at its most simple, at its most basic, is what we all want anyway.
We all want to live our values. We all want to feel that we are making a difference.
From the outside veganism looks like limits. From the inside, freedom.
For me, kindness to animals (and what could be kinder than not eating them?), and doing what I can to reduce suffering is a way for me to make a difference and live my values everyday.
The beginning of compassion is "compass." It's the way I find my direction.
Lisa Leonard
Coming up on a year being vegan. LIFE NEVER TASTED SO GOOD.!!!!
Cadry
That’s fantastic, Lisa! What a great milestone – for you and for the animals! Well done!
Melissa Cain
I just found this part of your blog on Pinterest. I am a fairly new vegan and wanted to let you know what you wrote has really resonated with me. I feel like all these years I was ignoring my true self, that sense of compassion. Ignoring the suffering of animals was also harming my spirit. I am looking at the works in a new way and feel more “like myself” than I ever have!
Cadry
That’s so great, Melissa. I’m really glad to hear that. It feels so much better not to numb who we truly are. Plus, there’s a lot of joy in living a compassionate life!
GiRRL_Earth
Beautiful post.
Cadry
Thank you. 🙂
luminousvegans
What a great post and the pictures of the cows are so cute. Becoming vegan was a life changer for me as well….it really opened up my eyes to a lot of things and made me realize that if I’d been duped into believing that hurting and eating animals was ok and normal, what else should I be questioning?
Jo
Hello from Hong Kong! I also found this post of yours by searching “how going vegetarian can change one’s life” on Google and your post came up second! 😀
Really glad to read what you wrote, it means a lot to me. i’m 29 this year and have reached the point in life where I’ve decided it’s time to say ‘sayonara’ to meat too. Yet Hong Kong is such a vegetarian-unfriendly place (not to mention going vegan..), but like you said I trust that it will all be proven worthy in the end. 🙂
I’ll bookmark your blog and keep coming back. Thanks again for your sharing!
jakethy
It’s funny, after we started volunteering at a nearby farm sanctuary, I thought the amazing feeling it gave me was specific only to me and my situation. But so much of what you describe has been exactly my experience. My “Mario” is a 700lb pig named Jonathan (looks much like the one photo you posted) – he has become my talisman in my new diet. After meeting him, I think that pigs are just about the most beautiful creatures on earth and eating one or doing it any harm at all is unthinkable.
Thank you for sharing the pics and story of Mario. Your blog is great and you write it so well – not overly flowery and quite accessible.
Liz @ VeganFoodRocks
Wow. This was an amazing post. Thank you for sharing.
Bren McClain
I am an animal lover, too! Love your website and your heart. I’m writing a novel that celebrates beef cattle, especially the maternal connection.
cadryskitchen
Bren, that sounds like a very moving novel that you’re writing. It’s always interesting to see the relationships animals share, because intrinsically they’re not so different from our own.
Laloofah
I love this beautiful post and your wonderful photos! (Great Bald Eagle picture!) 🙂
I could sure relate to your experiences, including those I’ve been fortunate enough to share with wild critters, rescued sanctuary residents, and my own furry family members. The story and photos of Tiny were very touching, especially the one of you gazing at each other – so sweet!
I appreciate your writing such a heartfelt piece with such eloquence, as I often find it hard to articulate the feeling that accompanied waking from the trance, becoming increasingly re-sensitized and aware of what’s important and what my values are and aligning my actions and life with them, and how everything changed. It’s a profound and magical journey that’s well worth taking. I hope that more and more people will open their hearts and minds to it, including the person who found your blog through that compelling phrase they used for their search! I really hope they return and are able to read your beautiful essay (and those moving comments left by your readers!)
cadryskitchen
Laloofah, thank you so much for your comments. From my vantage point you don’t have any trouble at all beautifully articulating your own feelings about going vegan. You’re absolutely right about the profound change that accompanies it. Who would have guessed that changing one’s daily choices would create such a marvelous ripple effect?
I’m not familiar with the website, “The Vegan Decision.” I’ll check it out!
Laloofah
Thank you, Cadry, you’re too kind! I just struggle to put such a profound experience, as well as my depth of feeling about this, into words. But you and others who express it all so beautifully and seemingly effortlessly inspire me. 🙂
And you’re right, who could guess about the resulting ripple effect? I never did. It’s been far-reaching, though, and continues to expand.
I hope you enjoy reading some of the stories on The Vegan Decision, and will eventually add your own! I know you’re familiar with Colleen Patrick-Goodreau (you often remind me of her!), so you’ve no doubt read her Joyful Vegan blog, too. More moving and uplifting “vegan journey” stories!
I meant to mention in my earlier comment that your place by the river looks like a dream! How wonderful that you got to experience it! I’ll bet the critters miss your presence. I hope you currently live in a place as peaceful and inspiring as your riverbank home looked!
Tab
Lovely. I’m a recently become vegan; was veg for several years. It was a natural progression, for me, and what you describe is exactly the truth of it in my situation.
And there is NOTHING like the feeling you get when you do figure out the way you “should” have been living, if you care about other beings and the planet.
cadryskitchen
Congratulations on recently becoming vegan!
Yes, after I went vegan my only regret was that I didn’t do it earlier. 🙂
tera @ eco elginhouse
cadry, this is a beautiful testimony to the feeling of interconnectedness that can come once our compassion is awakened. thank you.
cadryskitchen
Thank you, Tera!
Wayne
We tell ourselves so many things about why we choose to be vegan. Health a dear pet etc. Once we start the journey the compassion is awakened. I didn’t intend to be what is called the “Cali touchy feely vegan” its an actual awakening that happens. The leather shoes go the belt then you find you are reading clothing labels. The Vegan journey is more of an awakening of that god spark that gives us all life.
Not to bad for a Texan eh?
cadryskitchen
“The Vegan journey is more of an awakening of that god spark that gives us all life.” — Love this. You’re right, it seems that no matter the reason for going vegan, not eating animals opens us to deepened compassion.
Nicole J. Butler
I love this post, Cadry. I don’t yet know where Orland, CA is, but I may just have to take a trip there – the animals look like they’re smiling!
I’m sure they were happy to see you. :o)
cadryskitchen
Thanks, Nicole! Orland is in Northern California, about three hours north of San Francisco. I can’t recommend a visit highly enough. It’s a 300 acre property with rolling hills and endless beauty. They have tours May through October and even have a cabin on site where visitors can stay. I’ve never stayed there, but next time I go, I’d like to do that. They also have a sanctuary in NY, which I haven’t visited yet.
By the way, I’m always so happy to see you on my TV! It’s great that you’re getting so much work!