How could I have ever been so blind?

Compassion for All: It doesn’t just stop with the animals

As I enter my third year as a vegan, I am ridiculously pleased to be part of such a movement and to see animals in a light I never did through most of my life. Many of you might be able to relate to the question, “How could I have ever been so blind?”

I’m not the most social of creatures, and for that reason I sometimes wonder how I can be more active in my activism. This year at Vegetarian Summerfest, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau talked about the need to be ambassadors of compassion. I think I’ve got the compassion part down – at least when it comes to non-human animals – but the ambassador part? I’m in need of a little (ok, a lot of) improvement.

I wear my vegan t-shirts and necklaces. I will talk to people who are interested. I will bring my non-vegan friends to veg-friendly restaurants. I keep a vegan blog (though I have not given it the attention I could and should). I adopt a turkey from Farm Sanctuary every year. But is any of this making a difference?

We’ve all heard the quote attributed to Gandhi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Some vegans take that to mean that if we project an attitude of joy, of abundance, people will be drawn to it. They will ask the questions they want answers to. It doesn’t have to involve forcing your views down someone else’s throat (though it’s often tempting).

I have had people tell me they’ve noticed my skin looks great since going vegan, or that I look like I’ve lost weight. Sure, that may be a positive way to “promote” a lifestyle, but it’s not very magnanimous.

I have made simple, vegan dishes – a bean salad, a barley-vegetable soup, or pasta with lentil bolognese – that have gone over well with non-vegans who have asked for the recipes. Will one dish turn them vegan? Maybe not, but it’s one more non-animal-based meal they might add to their repertoire…

But still, I keep coming back to the idea of being an “ambassador for compassion”… And that is where I have a problem. While I can show compassion for animals – they make it fairly easy – I have a much harder time showing compassion for other people… and for myself!

Let’s start with other people. As I mentioned above, I’m not very social. Experience has shown me that people often disappoint. But is the problem them, or me?

Let me give you an example. One November day, while walking in a park, I watched three kids chasing and otherwise heckling a flock of geese. One of them appeared to throw his cup at one of birds. As I watched them, and watched the birds finally fly away, I was annoyed that those “bratty kids” were terrorizing birds who were minding their own business. My friend reminded me that they were young and had no idea they were doing anything wrong, and also that we were young once and did equally ignorant things. An ambassador of compassion might have shown understanding and hoped for change. In that moment, I wasn’t there yet.

And then there is me. I’m a bit of an over thinker; a monologue seems to constantly run in my head. I could be doing more, I should be doing this or that, I shouldn’t be sitting here watching television and I should be out walking or eating better or fighting the good fight on behalf of the animals.

The truth is, veganism is a journey, not a destination. Last weekend, I happened to be in a bookstore, reading, when someone asked me about my “Friend Not Food” turkey pendant. I had an opportunity to explain why I wore it, and why veganism works for me, and I did just fine. I soon realized that I was talking to two born-again Christians who wanted to know if I knew Jesus, and, while that’s a question for another time and place, I wound up having a lengthy discussion with them – an opportunity had presented itself because of my necklace, and I wound up talking to two people who certainly consider themselves ambassadors of compassion, even if their message is different than mine!

I take this stop on the journey as a sign that just because things have always been a certain way doesn’t mean they have to stay that way. After all, I once was a meat and cheese eater, and now I’m not. Vocal activist or not, time will tell. It’s heartening to know that the possibilities are endless!