Coming Back

Greetings, followers!

The pause has been far too long, despite this blog being constantly on my mind. After writing my last post, I have started doubting myself. The conversations with myself have been going kind of like this:

Doubting Voice (DV): "You don't know nearly enough to speak to this issue. What, you've been a vegan for about a month, read a couple of books, seen some movies, and now you think are you qualified to make eloquent statements about veganism? It's just pathetic."

Confident Voice (CV): "Yeah. OKAY. But I'm merely documenting my experience here... that's all. I'm not generalizing or telling people what to do.

DV: "Yes, you are. In fact, you are slowly headed down that slippery-slope to becoming a hater vegan: hater of carnivores, hater of non-organic, hater of milk lotions... leather products... honey in bread... animal testing... and tequila worms. You may not like to admit it, but you've gone from 'hey, I'm a foodie concerned with the well-being of my planet' to 'look at me, I'm vegan, I'm better than everyone else!'"

CV: "Where do you get these ideas from!? You are missing the whole point here. I am entirely respectful of other people's decisions. I was one of those people who consumed all those products until not long ago. Just because I made a decision to stop, it doesn't mean I expect the same out of everyone else. This is what I've chosen for myself because it makes sense to me. And I like talking about being a vegan because I like challenging preconceived notions that people have about their relationship with food. Maybe we can all learn something -- including myself."

All this and much more, back and forth -- you get the gist.

So here's a bit of clarifying -- and it's not because I think you are the DV in my head; it's more of a {disclaimer}.

The only basis I have for most of the statements I make here is my own experience. Some of the statements might be backed up by scientists or men in white coats. But, ultimately, it's your responsibility to verify what's true and what isn't. In fact, if I hope to change anything by opening up my experience to anyone willing to listen to it, that is to show that anyone can determine for himself or herself what the best truth is. And once you determine that truth, I hope your words and actions will follow.

End disclaimer.

Now I can go back to writing about yummy food. And secretly criticizing carnivores :)