This may sound strange from the very beginning, but stay with us for a moment please.
We are all very busy and strapped for cash and time. Becoming vegan is nothing so much new, yet it is regarded as a very difficult step in our lives.
Is it going to be more expensive? Is it going to be some boring foodstuff all over again? Is it that healthy anyways? There are those typical questions we are asked about.
Even those who are convinced, they start asking questions whether it would be easy to cook vegan breakfasts and lunches, what would they shop for dinners to cook in 20-30 minutes only and so on. This is all possible and on the budget too!
Yet the problem is not these supposedly serious issues. The main problem is that many of us do it for health reasons only.
It then becomes something like quitting smoking. We know it is not great for us, but we still do it. Many tried quitting, but it is way too hard and health reasons are not necessarily the most powerful ones.
What about looking for the important stuff that goes beyond our own selves? This is what many people call as ‘meaning’. It does empower us to do extraordinary things. We are capable to do miracles for our loved ones, for the business that brings purpose and sometimes for ourselves too.
There isn’t probably just one word which unites these meanings for every one of us. We prefer to define it as kindness.
After all, when we are kind to others, respectful to our business partners and also attentive to our own selves, that’s when we truly live in bright and rich colours.
That’s the reason diets fail. Diets are just physical and they become too strenuous and we also tend to end excuses not to continue. Yet kindness is something different – it is intrinsic to everyone of us. Do not listen to some cynics who are trying to persuade you that you need to be tough and cruel to survive.
We are now way past the survival stage of our evolution. Our progress and the development of human society allow us to enjoy life without the necessity to be cruel. Those who still do it, they live in a Stone Age still.
Kindness might be so elusive for many of us, but at the same time, it’s so easy to live by.
Kindness to yourself starts with taking care of your mind and nutrition.
Self-compassion which manifests in our thoughts and attitude contributes to both mental health (emotional stability, not punishing oneself with thoughts and rumination) and physical health by means of healthy nutrition (kindness to your body that goes beyond and covers kindness to animals).
This could be a holistic meaning and definition of kindness.
What it really means for every one of us is that we do not kill anyone for our food, we enjoy technological progress without relying on cheap and cheerful produce that damages our health and we cultivate our minds by means of mindfulness meditation and being kind to other people (simply start with your close ones and then extend it to others).
This diet of kindness will make you happy.
It will save thousands, millions and billions of innocent lives and also reverse lifestyle diseases in you and in your closest friends and relatives (who will listen to you, who will be the recipients of your kindness). Isn’t it a wonderful picture of the world we can strive for? And what’s great is that it’s possible and we can do it together!
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