Taking It All In

A number of you have written and asked me to talk about what else you can do beyond just stopping eating animals and animal secretions. You want to do more, and I commend you. We need you. The animals need you, and there much work to do.

At another time, we can talk about specific things you can do, but first I want to talk about processing all of this information about the cruelty inflicted upon animals. I want to talk about what it feels like to move around in a world that seems insensitive to what you care about. Because between the learning and the doing, there is the being, the processing of all this new information, and we need to know a little about who we are before we can go work on behalf of others. We need to adjust our sight to the new lenses through which we are looking at the world.
CREATING OUR INTENTIONS
When we know where we are coming from, we will have better success at reaching our destination. Let me explain what I mean by that. When I set out to speak on behalf of animals, it’s helpful for me to know what my intention is. Before I teach a class or write this podcast or write an article or answer someone’s question, anything – I make sure I know what my intention is each time. And my intention is always this: “to raise awareness about the suffering of animals, to be their voice, and to speak my truth.” Whatever someone does with that isn’t mine. If someone responds favorably, it’s not mine, and if someone responds unfavorably, it’s not mine. It’s theirs. I believe we’re here to be teachers to one another, and I am grateful for my role as a conduit. That’s all any of us are. That is why I have said in previous episodes that if we don’t speak our truth, we’re not only missing out on our own development but we’re denying someone else theirs.

So, notice that my intention is not “to make the world vegan” or “to get this person to change his mind.” If those were my intentions, I’d fail every time. I’d fail because it’s not my role to “make” anyone do anything. All I can do is speak the truth, and it’s that truth that inspires others to act on their own values. That’s why I don’t like the word “convert” – people ask me if I “convert” people. I prefer “inspire” – we inspire one another. The literal meaning is “to breathe into.” And that’s what we do for one another, right? We breathe new ideas, new life into one another, particularly when it’s about a subject we have been deadened to. It really is like fresh breath, fresh air being pumped into us for the first time. So, that’s the first thing I would recommend is that we have clear intentions. Trust me – it takes all the pressure off, because you’re not setting out to change anyone, you’re just setting out to tell the truth. This is my first suggestion to new activists and to anyone who is called upon to speak on the animals’ behalf. And I guess that pretty much means any of us who are vegetarian or who have a consciousness around animals. We are asked to talk about it whether we like it or not, and might I suggest that we learn to like it, because if you don’t speak for them, who will?

FIRST COMES PEACE
In my opinion, to advocate for animals and on behalf of veganism is to advocate for non-violence, to advocate for peace. Peace in the world. Peace in others – human and non-human. And, not surprisingly, peace is the byproduct of this lifestyle. It’s incredible. Peace is what you give, what you create, and peace is what you get back. I never even bargained for that. It was an unexpected gift, and I know this is what many others experience, too. There’s a very deep peace of mind that comes from disconnecting yourself with the violence inherent in turning beautiful, living, feeling, breathing lives into butchered bodies. The scenes that take place in slaughterhouses, on feedlots, at auctions, in processing plants, on factory farms, on small farms, at egg hatcheries, at insemination facilities, they’re beyond our worst nightmares. They’re beyond our worst imaginings. That’s why we don’t want to look. That’s why we don’t. That’s why we pay others to do it for us: anonymous labor killing the anonymous victims of our appetites. That’s why those who do pick up the blade do so with a closed heart, a desensitized conscience. Because it’s ugly and it’s brutal and it’s bloody and it’s pointless.

To say no to that – to remove yourself from the horror, from the nightmare – releases you from that burden that burden of guilt that sooooo many of us (dare I say all?) experience on a low level. You know what I mean – that low, constant, underlying hum that causes us to make every excuse in the book to justify our actions, to release us from our complicity in it. The hum that causes us to say we feel okay about eating animals because we pray over their corpses in order to honor the sacrifice they made for us -- a sacrifice the animal had no choice in. No prayer I ever said over their dismembered bodies exonerated me from the part I played. No excuse I ever made washed the blood from my hands. I only felt free when I stopped eating them. I felt like a weight had been lifted and I felt lighter. My participation in the world and my desire for non-violence took on an entirely new meaning, and I recognized connections between animal rights and all other social justice causes.

Recently, I received a very moving email from a woman named Erin who articulated this very experience. I hope you don’t mind if I share some of it with you. I think you’ll find it as inspiring and moving as I do.

She wrote, “Dear Colleen, I want to sincerely thank you for changing my life. About five days before Thanksgiving I listened to all of your podcasts on a long car ride. I arrived at my destination vegan. When I decided to listen, based on my sister's recommendation, I thought there was a chance I might try vegetarian, but I did not expect what I heard.” She goes on to talk about the experience and frustration she’s had thus far talking to people about how she sees things now and then continues: “Here's one more thing: the peace. I feel like a gentler, happier, kinder person- I laugh more, I feel great every day. It doesn't matter how totally corny this sounds, although I acknowledge that it does- the connection between eating animals and the absence of world peace seems pretty obvious. It’s true though- if every individual could feel this at peace the world would definitely be a very different place. I wish there was a bigger way to say thank you.”

I, too, believe that the absence of world peace is deeply connected with our violence towards animals; I would even go a step further and say our violence towards others is rooted in our violence towards animals. Our violence towards animals causes deep damage to our psyches, and that is what we bring to the world, to our communities, to our families, and to ourselves. Nothing good comes from slaughtering the innocent.

THEN COMES ANGER
There are many forms of activism, it’s very, very difficult work. Bearing witness to so much cruelty and suffering is traumatic – literally. Burnout is common among activists, and many become jaded and hopeless – and angry. And why shouldn’t we be angry? Corporate greed, personal convenience and pleasure drive the institutionalized use and abuse of billions and billions of non-human animals all over the place. We live in a world where it’s considered normal to champion this and considered crazy or radical to oppose it. We live in a country where our government just passed the Animal Enterprise Terrorist Act, meaning anyone that hinders the profits of an industry that exploits animals, can be charged as a felon and sent to prison. Six American citizens were just sent to prison under this very Act, the longest sentence being six years. Of course people are angry.

And that’s not a dirty word. Anger is a very real emotion – it’s what we do with it that will make or break us. So my next suggestion would be to identify what might be anger, accept anger as a part of the process, don’t be afraid of it, or try to suppress it or label it as wrong.
Having said that, I think it’s very important to note that the root of the word anger is sorrow. The root of the word anger is “anguish, torment, deep grief.” In fact, its earliest roots referred to something being “painfully constricted,” a “strangling, narrowing, squeezing, throttling.” It’s anguish - utter anguish, and that’s what most of us feel when we see what happens to animals on our behalf. Anguish. As you may have guessed by now, anguish and anger share the same root.

If you reframe anger so you see it in its proper context, you’ll agree that there isn’t a contradiction between the peace that comes with eating nonviolently and the anger you feel as the result of so much abuse. The key is transforming into anger into action. It’s easy to become cynical, disheartened, and hopeless, but that doesn’t do anyone any good. Anger can be a great motivator, but don’t dwell there. How do you do that? How do you not dwell in the sorrow, in the anguish, in the grief? And I think the answer is: through hope.

FINDING THE HOPE
And that’s my next suggestion: find hope. It’s everywhere. Those of us who work with the public are in a very unique position, because we get to see the change happening. I mean – I get to witness transformations – people changing their lives, people changing their minds, their habits, like Erin, and it’s so incredible to see, and I can’t begin to thank you for sharing your stories with me. Read the comments people send to me, share your own story with someone else, write down the stories of those who are now making a difference. Visit an animal sanctuary, read stories about animals on the website of sanctuaries. You want hope? Go visit http://www.rollingdogranch.org/ and read some of the stories of those animals. Visit http://www.peacefulprairie.org/ and do the same. Watch the film The Witness, the documentary by Tribe of Heart – http://www.tribeofheart.org/. Ask other vegetarians/vegans their stories and hear what their moments of epiphany were. Seek out the hope. If you don’t look for it, you won’t know it’s there. And it’s there. I couldn’t do this work if I wasn’t carried by hope. I’d be a puddle, and it’s hope that carries me.

REMEMBERING OUR STORIES
One of the things that inevitably happens to us when we go out into the world newly awakened is that we are so acutely aware of all the animal exploitation that we may become easily frustrated by those around us who are participating in it. It’s a natural response. We’re looking at the world through an entirely different lens and we want to shake everyone and make them see what we see. But I can tell you that you will neither make many friends nor keep many friends if that’s your approach. You will neither inspire many people nor will you be doing yourself any good. We have to remember that we, too, were once unaware of what’s going on. We absolutely have to remember that. We have to remember that there was a time we didn’t know, we have to remember that every seed we plant has the potential to grow. But as I said before, it’s not ours to control. Once we plant a seed, we might help water it and nurture it and fertilize it, but we have no control over the outcome. In forgetting our own stories and our own process, we lose our humility, and in doing so we risk becoming arrogant and bitter. And bitterness is anger that has dwelled upon.

CONNECTING WITH OTHERS
Remembering our stories is so important, but so is telling our stories and hearing other people’s stories. And the only way we’re going to be able to do that is if we connect with other like-minded people. I’ve made this suggestion in another podcast, so hopefully you’ve taken it by now. Find vegan meetups in your area or start one. Start a potluck. Have a cooking party. Volunteer with the local animal group. And when you meet like-minded people, ask them to tell you their story. Tell them yours. Your first memory of animals in your life. Your connection with them. Your lack of connection with them. What your parents taught you. What you remember about being taught was their role. When you began to think differently. Who your inspirations and mentors were. We can gain so much insight from one another. First we have to find one another.

So, let me just re-cap. These are my suggestions for learning to live as newly awakened people in a world that is sleeping.

First, Know Your Intention and Remain Unattached to the Outcome
Second, First Comes Peace, Then Comes Anger – Embrace Both
Third, Find The Hope
Fourth, Remember Your Story
Fifth, Share Your Story and Listen to Others’ Stories

On behalf of the billions of animals who are right now at the mercy of humans and on behalf of the billions of humans who have the capacity to show mercy, this is Colleen from Compassionate Cooks.

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