What did you find today? tangible or intangible?

[Tinyflame]

Oh I loved Wuthering Heights as a kid @Sietz , probably still would . :) Glad you were successful in a book find.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

To me, @Junebug , it means no matter how high one can fly, it's important to also make time to be grounded. It also reminds me not to let others pluck my nerves, but rather try to let things happen naturally.

When I find birds that have passed on, I can't bring myself to pluck their feathers out of their bodies to save for my collection, as I feel if I were meant to have the single feathers, they'd arrive in single form. I tried to pluck a dead bird once and could feel the physical pain in my own body. It wasn't too long after that when I connected the dots with how long I'd been blindly paying others to pluck a whole bunch of them for me so I could feed my taste bud addictions via KFC, which I also felt physical pain from in more ways than one.

Many folks believe feathers are sure signs of angels being near and watching over them. To me, the animals (and nature as a whole) are my angels, so to speak, so I guess it's a similar belief, just using different language. There are even different designations depending on the color of the feather you find, but my memory isn't that good. lol Google can help clarify all of those details.

Yesterday, I bought a flower arrangement to take to mom and as soon as I stepped off the curb headed back to my car, I spotted a bright blue jay feather next to my tire. It definitely wasn't there on my way in. They're the gift that keeps on giving in my world, sometimes on a daily basis. :)

 

[Tinyflame]

That's so beautiful @Tornadic Thoughts . Yes, I must say, animals and esp birds have been present a lot at critical times for me. I think the sweetest thing is when they stay with me, or come right up.

 

[Tinyflame]

PS, @Tornadic Thoughts I hate when I have to try to scare an animal/ bird away 'on purpose'- I don't think they really believe me, because they go a few feet and stop, usually.

I would really like to learn from you or in general how to go Vegan, but I crave meat/ fish/ protein like crazy, as well as dairy products (cheese, yogurt, have started (on purpose) milk), don't tolerate beans or 'round' foods well anymore (peas/ popcorn/ corn/ nuts/ raisins), and have little desire for and allergies to most grains- oatmeal, barley, flax, bran, anything that says multigrain (wheat and rye are ok). Chick peas are ok if I cook them to death.

How could I start?

 

[ladee]

I find feathers too. A few days ago, a small little white feather, like @Tornadic Thoughts , I just find them, or they find me. I could not take a feather from a dead bird. Just couldn't. I also have a collection of birds nests. That the wind has blown from trees. I love my surrounding in my home... it does keep certain people out of here... Thank the powers that be !!! Who knew having a cow scull on the top of your bookshelf, keeps out people with bad energy... Think I will hang it on the front door, ya know, like other people hang fake flower wreaths... ?(it's a cow with horns...) love all the new emoji's... ?
Or maybe it's a reindeer... someone who sees better than I can, let me know..

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

I wish I had a handy dandy guide that could help folks gently and very easily dive into the vegan world, @Junebug ,but the longer I actively practice it, the more I realize each person must find their own path in their own time, whether it be a vegan one or not, no matter how much I wish I could help or how strongly I'd like to see the suffering of both animals, humans, and the land end.

My best advice is to remain mindful that simply being "vegan" in no way means healthy. There's plenty of vegan junk food and crap items, too, and companies will use buzz words and catch phrases to try to convince you it's the healthiest choice, just as with all other foods (and anything for sale). One thing I used to repeat to myself in the grocery store was "If it comes from a plant (nature-wise), eat it. If it's made in a plant (factory-wise), pass it on by." (one of many reminders I found helpful from a fun read via a book called "Food Rules" by Michael Pollan) I'm also lucky in regards of being in a space where we can grow much of our own and have neighbors and friends who do, too, giving us access to organic vine-ripened options locally grown, minus the hefty price tags, during the growing season.

I encourage folks to add more whole food plant-based options every chance they get, to get to know the process it takes to get each one of your choices to your table and decide if that's the energies you truly wish to digest along with the product, and to focus more on what you can add to enrich and nourish your being based on your actual individual needs rather than focusing on the lack of all the things you feel you will miss that you're already addicted to or highly fond of that could be creating hellish hell-th conditions from the inside out.

I had to un-learn then re-learn from the basics on up, including about my own body from the inside out. Out of sight, out of mind, unfortunately, until an emergent need arises. Luckily, I already knew how to cook and love to do so, making it a much smoother transition than if I didn't. My rapidly declining health prior to making the drastic changes forced me to resign from my f/t job, too, giving me much more time to research and experiment. I was sure I'd die of starvation or boredom, but almost 4 years later, I'm still in the game.

I was catapulted into my chosen whole food plant-based vegan lifestyle overnight via a medical emergency that had me deciding if I wanted A) the extreme of having my body cut open and organs surgically removed...or B) the extreme of giving up meat, dairy, eggs, gluten, caffeine, alcohol, and as much artificially processed stuff as humanly possible. I chose "B", and so far, still have all my organs I was born with, lost a whole person weight-wise, and feel more vibrant than I have in ages...most days. Once I watched documentaries teaching me more than I ever thought I needed to know, visited many local "humane" operations, and moved within ear shot of a dairy farm, there was no turning back.

I had already switched to only local meat/dairy/eggs for quite a while prior to that, but still suffered greatly with many symptoms. Being a victim of CSA, teen rape, and many years of domestic violence, it really struck a deep chord in my heart to have people say it's "humane" to love on the animals, allow them to live in spaces deemed much nicer than a factory farm, and kindly care for them prior to forcibly impregnating and/or killing them, as I'd also been supposedly very well loved and well cared for prior to being held captive, held down, repeatedly violated, and having guns held to my head, too. Not a damn thing feels humane about that in my world.

I've learned animal products are not an actual need in many cases, but rather simply a choice of our ingrained conditioning/traditions/beliefs, and I learned my heart can never again choose to allow those things to happen to other living beings simply for momentary taste bud pleasures. My social and so-called "convenience" life has suffered greatly based on how it used to be (based heavily on food gatherings and social drinking), but my inner world has expanded beyond belief. Make it a fun thing and experiment when you can. If fun isn't one of the major ingredients, nothing will taste very good. :) I also found that it's really easy to get lost in the stress of "shoulding" on thyself. I had to rephrase my thoughts from "I should..." to "I could likely benefit from....". That feels much lighter in my head and heart space.

To get back to the topic of the thread....today, before the monsoon rain hit, again, I found several dozen mushrooms, and then some. Some have shiny silver caps, some are deep dark orange, some black, some brown, etc. Some popped up in nice little circles, but most are just scattered about in random spots. There's fungus among us. lol If only they were the edible variety.

 

[Tinyflame]

Thank you so much @Tornadic Thoughts , and yes I agree. I believe it was Linus Pauling who said, ~there's no money to be made in peas and carrots (the preventative aspect of healthy diet emphasized, vs the pharmaceutical industry's ability to patent- and thus charge- for medications). Not that I'm against medication, but rather believe diet's impact is huge.

I do know though my mom was hugely deficient in Vit E, and developed a fairly rare cancer associated with such; my dad's cancer apparently influenced potentially by low levels of Vit D (which may be part of the genetic propensity).

But I don't feel right, harming animals, also. (Though I have to confess I've only gotten to the point I've not squashing most bugs even outside while gardening, as it is their home, after all (except for lady bugs and butterflies I never did) :( ).

Think I will hang it on the front door, ya know, like other people hang fake flower wreaths... ?(it's a cow with horns...)

Oh @ladee ?lol I think that's a 'steer' but I'm no Texan.. ? My kind of door hanger though!

Or maybe it's a reindeer...

I like that the best!! ^^ ??

 

[ladee]

Found another feather on my way back from walking HD today. It wasn't there when I went that way , but was coming back.. just added it to the collection.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

I remember being told repeatedly by all the professionals about how I should just go ahead and expect many bad things to come with age based solely on familial genes, @Junebug , and they had me convinced for quite a while that I was simply shit out of luck in regards to several of the chronic symptoms I was experiencing, but after drastically changing my consumption habits, I quickly learned genes aren't the only things that run in families...so do diets/beliefs/traditions/etc. Talk about a light bulb moment! I'd never even thought of that before.

I do my share of taking out some of the animal population, too, most especially in the insect world when I mow, if a skeeter gets within my reach, fruit flies, japanese beetles, squash bugs, etc. Causing the least harm possible is all we can try to do. The way society is set up/over-priced/heavily marketed/supposedly highly educated/artificially created by profit seeking peeps/etc., it makes it damn near impossible to not cause harm to self and others in our day to day habits. Often times trying not to create harm can cause even more harm to self just by the heavy amount of stress it can create. It's not easy to venture through this thing called life no matter how we try to navigate it. Best wishes to us all, and especially to the ones who can't speak up for themselves and who are placed in circumstances way beyond their control.

This morning, I found where a small bird got attacked/eaten by something overnight on our front porch. None of the bird body is left, but there's quite a pile of feathers. Whatever it was took a dump not too far away from the pile. Great digestive system! lol Looks like cat scat, so I'm guessing it was the black kitty that hangs out in the hood rather often. Rest in power little birdie...thanks for your song and for being an example of how one can take flight and soar high, but still not escape the laws of nature.

 

[Tinyflame]

Wow @Tornadic Thoughts , exactly. I really can't take 'nature'- like those shows one thing eating the next. ? I recall feeling 'PO'ed' a bluejay ate some baby robins, only to see a crow go after a baby blue jay. I mean, ?. When I had to kill a mouse I put it in a box with RIP on it. I wrap up dead birds the same, or what have you. Just gross to me, nature or not.

I agree totally with the rest. Even food-group wise, for example I can eat apples cooked, just not raw. Or pb, but not peanuts. So that is more my guts than the food group.

I probably eat more veggies/ salads and cookies, plus pb and margarine and cheese/ yogurt, than anyone who could afford to does on the planet. I'm holding on to the marg for now, simply because I read if ones kidneys aren't so great, it's the one exception when you actually should be readily consuming it (or with Diabetes, to keep one's blood sugar level o/night). But yes, it seems even apart from cancer all 3 of my siblings and myself won the genetic 'sh*t' loto for a fairly rare disorder, and the 2 of them that don't eat have had multiple more problems than the 2 of us who do eat, even if it isn't all the right choices. I do have to say, I eat 'fresh' (not fast food) the majority of the time- it's just way cheaper, and how I was raised. Similarly, we have terrible prices on fresh food though in my country, and now in the last 2 or so years every time you go to shop nearly every item is 20 cents to 1$ more, per item. And it's even worse in areas with less competition (remote).

I have for about 30 years believed there is a huge chasm between understanding the impact of nutrition, and similarly the gut/ '2nd brain' connection. When you look at additives, including the impact through additives to everything not food related, the effect is huge. (Though I always joke I could use a little 'Growth Hormone' or some antibiotics in my milk!) :)

 

[jaccat]

I found a disaster waiting to happen- a squashed grape on a flight of wooden stairs!

 

[Changing4Best]

I got 3 catalogs in the mail. I "found" a bunch of stuff I want to buy! Now if I could just find some money to buy all of it with!