Oldie, But a Goodie: One Thing I Know for Sure

It's April already! My, how time flies... 

As promised, here is the beginning of what I think will be a fun little leap into Kiss Me I'm Vegan's past - a series of posts I'll be doing in the next few months called "Oldie, But a Goodie." In this series, I'll be sharing old KMIV posts with all of you, and I hope you'll enjoy reading (or re-reading!) them as much as I enjoyed writing them. With all of the hustle and bustle currently happening in this vegan blogger's life, doing a series like this will definitely help reaffirm my love for all things vegan, and, most importantly, connect me with the reasons I wanted to create Kiss Me, I'm Vegan! in the first place.  

One Thing I Know for Sure  is a post from 2009 that talks about a theme all of us can relate to, I'm sure - finding strength and positivity in the face of challenge. As it was a mere month before my wedding to Steve and a time of great change in my life, I was feeling very downtrodden about what step to take next in life - and a not-so-surprising source helped me find my way back to smiling again, as you'll read below.

One last thing before we dig in: if you are a regular reader and would like to have a specific post shared again, feel free to say so in the comments below. Happy Saturday, my beautiful, animal-loving readers. Be sure to spread compassion and kindness wherever you go today!


One Thing I Know for Sure
October 4, 2009
  
Between the job hunting, the creative brainstorming for ways to make money, and random last minute wedding planning, I am completely spent. I'm sure all of you can relate to what I'm about to say - when life gets this hectic, when I have such little control over the future of things, it gets hard to want to keep going with it all. I find I'm so desperate that I'd be willing to take a toddler's time out if it meant I could just sit and breathe all the chaos out of my system.

Being a positive person means that when life happens, I try to adapt and find the "silver lining". Basically, I try to trust in something that I cannot control or understand at times.  But it also means that for me, when life completely overhauls all of my intended plans, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain my positivity.  Whether it's the universe's way of testing me or not, it doesn't change the fact that my life is not where I expected (or even wanted) it to be.

But being the positive person that I am means that eventually, I begin to come around.  I begin to think of reasons to wake up thankful each morning. I try to remember to breathe, and to know that just breathing is a basic privilege in and of itself. 

And then I think about the animals. 

A beautiful rescued turkey resting peacefully at Animal Acres.
I think of the billions of cows, chickens, turkeys, geese, and pigs who are forced to live a daily hell in factory farms twenty-four hours a day. I think about the baby cows who are ripped from their mothers shortly after birth so that they can both become a part of what John Robbins so appropriately calls "The Food Machine".   I think of animals who do not possess the voice or physical power to stop what is being done to them. I think about their unending pain, their fear, their loneliness and desolation. And then I think about the factory workers who have no other choice than to be a part of such an abusive system.

And when I think about all of that, it hits me. These animals need me to wake up each morning. They need my help. They need my voice. They need me. They don't need my selfishness. They don't need me to throw a pity party for myself, when they don't even so much as receive a moment to enjoy themselves.

So, now, I have a reason to wake up. I have a reason to be thankful that I am a human being with the free will to choose to live a vegan lifestyle. I feel empowered knowing that just my being alive offers me the chance to help a cause so much larger than myself. And that gives me hope. And that makes everything else - every little problem and inconvenience- seem so small in comparison.

I made some cupcakes yesterday and was planning to blog about that today. After this post, I fondly realize now that plans should always be subject to change. But it would be wrong of me to even bring up the word cupcakes without sharing proof of them, so enjoy. 



Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Sprinkles



Apple Cider Cupcakes with Cinnamon Clove Icing

Thanks for reading my words today. I hope they help you find reason and purpose in your own lives if you're feeling lost. Enjoy a beautiful rest of the weekend, and expect a post from me tomorrow about my trip to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary.

Comments

Angela said…
This is a timely post for me, since as I am getting overwhelmed with my thesis and other academic commitments I have to keep reminding myself to stay positive. I'm glad I have the hope and joy of being vegan to buoy me during rough times.
The power of being vegan is fueled not only by our individual choices but the fact that the smaller decisions we make add up to something so much bigger, so much greater than our small personal sphere of existence. I draw on this energy everyday to keep on persevering and keep on smiling because, you're right, the animals need us no matter what and they are enduring hardships we can't even imagine.

"I have a reason to be thankful that I am a human being with the free will to choose to live a vegan lifestyle" -Thanks for highlighting this statement. I support this statement, but also see it as a reason to be patient with other people in my life that have not become awakened yet. The freedom I have to choose to be vegan is their same freedom to not be vegan. I'm learning to respect this and just do my best to plant seeds of encouragement that will hopefully grow into positive change.

I appreciate it that you have not abandoned the blog during this busy time in your life. I'm sure you're doing a lot of great work for the animals and changing the world one step at a time. I think that re-posting these poignant blog entries is a great idea. Rock on, Lindsay!

Best wishes to all your animal friends and family, both human and non human :)
dirtyduck said…
im glad you are still going to bring back the oldies:) and the frosting on those looks so great!(both!!!)
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