Vegan: Changes & challenges

I think this has been the biggest change for me; I’ve struggled over the past 3 years or so to “find myself”, I didn’t really know what “finding myself” even entailed but I knew I felt like I was looking for something that was missing. I just couldn’t work out what that thing was.

The last months before I discovered Veganism I was really going through a rough patch, my mind was in a place of serious turmoil, my head was constantly cloudy and I felt very depressed. Only now do I see that this was all just my world pointing me towards finally finding a sense of purpose and greater understanding of what the hell life meant to me!

Veganism gave me my daily purpose, I discovered what I truly felt strongly about and equally it opened me up to a world beyond the one I lived in. A world of compassion and love that filled me so fully I couldn’t not become it. I felt enlightened. Since putting my soul wholly into this purpose I have never seen such clarity in the world and every day I’m learning more. If you’re in a bad place, you’re looking for your purpose here in this world or you feel a lack of connection to the world you live in I would suggest looking into Veganism. It could change the way you think, feel and live!

I think many people go vegan in a very empty way, purely to loose weight. This is where Veganism became a bit of a “trend” and wasn’t taken so seriously by many. I’m sure I would’ve gone that far when I was struggling with my body image, BUT, it will only make you feel more empty, purposeless and will not heal the way you see yourself.

I’ve been very open on here about the way’s I struggled with binge eating and body dis-morphia for the last 3 years of my life and I had to realise that to change the way I saw my body, I had to change the way I was eating. When you struggle with body image, you are filled with self-loathing and a desperate want to not have your own body. So when we go on a diet, deprive ourselves of food or over-eat, we are reinforcing that negative cycle. We are not eating out of love for our bodies, we are eating out of dislike and hate – and this is where it always goes wrong. Because we are eating out of dislike, we will only ever see more dislike in ourselves. You can loose/gain as much weight as you want but if you are eating in this way you will never find satisfaction.

Since I’ve gone vegan, I can’t decide if my body has changed or my mind has changed – or both. But either way, I suddenly love the reflection I see of myself. I love part of my body and I no longer see a piece of meat that I don’t associate with and dislike, I see myself as whole once more and I love it. I’m eating with love and compassion and in turn, I’m become an image of love and compassion.

I think this is the biggest struggle for most people wanting to go vegan. Other people.

“My friends/family don’t support me at all and think I’m stupid/going to lack protein/am going through a phase.” etc.etc.

I know. I dealt with it too. When going vegan you’ve first got to realise that the answer is not to be angry or judge anyone else in the world who isn’t enlightened/doesn’t care to be enlightened to the disfunction in the way the world works in this day and age. Most of us are conditioned from birth about how the world works and what is right/wrong. But somewhere along the line, our idea of what is right/wrong in the way of eating other animals became seriously dis-functional but until this present moment hasn’t been addressed.

It’s a lot like slavery or woman’s rights; we didn’t see them as problems with the world and the way humanity was functioning until enough people spoke up about it and suddenly it was shocking to us that it had gone on for so long.

All I can say is, stay strong in your values and purpose and be humble. Learn as much as you can about Veganism and know exactly why you’re choosing to eat and live the way that you are. Know the facts and so next time a friend or family member has a go at you foryour newly found passion you can let them know exactly why you’re doing it and point them in a good direction so they too can learn.

Be confident in what you believe in, but equally do not judge. We are all on our own journeys and we must love and respect each other’s journeys equally! Love is what it’s all about people!

If you have any questions below about anything at all, please ask! I’ll be happy to answer.

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”-Gandhi

Ella x