One Thing That Made You Smile Today?

[Tornadic Thoughts]

The 75 year old lady I crossed paths with today while buying herb plants who's interested in hula hoops....and she eats a plant-based diet. :) You just never know where inspiration may come from.

 

[Angrboda]

a plant-based diet

Boyfriend says he eats a plant-based diet too. Every night he eats a large steak. The steak comes from a cow, and the cow in turn is composed of compounds derived from plants which the cow consumed. So it's plant-based. Really.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

Interesting thinking and sharing, there, @Angrboda . My definition of plant-based diet doesn't include dead rotting animal flesh or animal by-products, as I've long since learned though direct experiences that there's absolutely no need for me to create unnecessary purposeful suffering in other beings to appease my taste bud addictions, especially after learning how detrimental continuing to do so was to my health. One hundred and ten pounds less of me later, along with what I had been told by multiple professionals was simply unattainable relief from multiple "life sentence" chronic illness diagnoses, with more vitality than I recall ever having in my youth, makes me think I'll stick with my own definition.

My body and mind have greatly benefited from also no longer digesting the other things those beings are fed and/or injected with, as well as the fight/flight energies of potential abuse endured while being held captive, while being forcibly impregnated to produce more milk, while having their babies taken from them to save the milk for the humans, and all the other things they experience at the hands of humans until their throats get slit...as I don't think they ever voluntarily offer up their lives, their bodily fluids, their babies, etc...but to each their own. May it do his body/mind much better than it did mine and the cows.

 

[Angrboda]

I thought we weren't supposed to proselytize on this forum @Tornadic Thoughts . You should try discussing something other than vegan propaganda once in awhile. I'm sure you have something more to offer the world.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

I'm not here to try to convince, change, or convert anyone, @Angrboda . I've long since learned trying to do so is a gross misuse of precious energies. I can only work on actively being the change I wish to see and continue to live by example. I simply share the awareness I've gained regarding our food/beverage supply and how it greatly lessened the overall quality of my life over a span of four decades, the energies connected to each choice as I experience/d it, the detrimental effects my choices have on the overall environment/my in-vironment, and my current consumption habits that have more than given me my life back in ways I'd been told were no longer attainable at my age.

My dietary choices are my main form of medicine (thanks, Hippocrates!), energy, entertainment, celebration, favorite form of sharing with/gifting others, etc. because my quality of life in each moment truly depends on how I choose to fuel my meat coated skeleton and exist in this world. Finally discovering those very direct connections while also having my basic needs met enough to be able to experience living it has been the best gift of life ever. I've vowed to myself to never again be silent about shit that really matters.

I also share memories of the painful and repeatedly misdiagnosed and mistreatment of side effects/symptoms of my previous choices/habits/addictions/conditioning as I've researched and recognized them (along with the ongoing support, validation, and guidance of my doctor and other professionals), based on my specific biological needs, by actually practicing and fully living the beneficial transition/results for several years now, as well as how I feel about the various mind-blowing discoveries, what appear to be purposeful ongoing societal omissions of very relevant information, and direct experiences I encounter/ed in the process of continuing to learn.

It's all very much a part of who I am, right along with my personal flavors of PTSD. Taking time to thoroughly look behind the scenes in various areas of the animal industry has been incredibly disturbing, to say the least, but helped/s me relate even more as I, too, experienced being forcibly impregnated, tied up, beaten, held captive with no way to escape, forced to endure super shitty living conditions, lost two children surgically at the hands of abusers, had guns held to my head repeatedly, was used for financial gain by other humans, etc. It's a connection that runs deep within and will never fade in my heart, and one that more often than not remains out of the plain sight of society for a reason, I feel.

Becoming a whole foods plant-based vegan consumer who also avoids caffeine, alcohol, gluten, and as much artificially created stuff as humanly possible has been THE most incredibly challenging yet powerful/healing/therapeutic/eye-opening/self-empowering moves I've ever made available to myself. It's enriched my life beyond belief, continually affording me options to do even more things to further help myself along in this existence, therefore, you're damn right it tends to be the most frequently mentioned topic of my daily interactions, be it online or in real life. As Popeye would say, "I yam what I yam." One (wo)man's perceived propaganda may be another (wo)man's lifeline. Vegan speak of any sort used to annoy the f*ck out of me, too, until I began to actively live it for the health of it.

If you feel I've violated any rules here, please follow the procedure of reporting your concerns to staff. If I bother you personally, feel free to use the ignore button or simply overlook my presence. Thanks for yet another chance to thoroughly review my life choices/circumstances and remind myself that all of my daily efforts, albeit labor intensive and time consuming, are very much worth whatever it takes. In getting back to the intended purpose of this thread, reoccurring learning opportunities is one thing that made me smile today. Much gratitude.

 

[Mee]

I never use the chat feature here, but I occasionally notice comments as I scroll down to the message board after logging in.

I just read one that made me guffaw.

 

[Muttly]

cuddling with a puppy :)

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

The first harvest of our garden this year.....radishes and radish greens. :)

 

[Mach123]

I have a sardonic laughter that comes from shared suffering. It's a thing in 12 step meetings because the really terrible stories often make people laugh the hardest. Like 'laughing is the best medicine.' I scroll down the new posts all the time and I crack up at some of the titles. I can't be the only one. This used to make me feel bad but there were long periods I couldn't laugh and nothing was funny and I was resentful of people laughing I thought it was being mean. That was an awful way to feel. : (

 

[RandyMac]

Hearing the sharp bark of my Sportster.

 

[intothelight]

Three dogs barking at the Heron who was totally ignoring them. I think if wing tips had fingers he would have raised the middle one.

 

[Deleted member 42957]

My hen letting my dog know she had laid an egg for him to steal before I got there