
I have found the very best most wonderful diet in the whole world. It is
THE diet that everyone should be following. I have found this diet many times in the past and each time I have sung its praises to all my friends and family and yet, sadly, most of them failed to listen to me or follow in my footsteps. What is wrong with them?
The first time I found this perfect diet I ate nothing but meat, cheese, eggs, oil, salad smothered with mayonnaise, shredded cheese, and crumbled bacon, coffee and diet sodas laced with heavy cream. I lost lots of weight, my hair grew longer and thicker, my nails were long and strong, I had lots of energy and slept like a baby.
The next time I found this perfect diet I ate cabbage soup. I ate it all day long with near miraculous results. Then there was the Cambridge liquid diet, Slim Fast, the grapefruit diet, Fit For Life, Weight Watchers, and the list goes on and on, each one more perfect than the rest, until it wasn't the perfect diet anymore. Yes, I have come across the perfect diet many times in my 55 years. Each time I knew that I had FINALLY found the perfect way to eat for the rest of my life and I could see no reason whatsoever that everyone else should not join me.
Now, I eat fruit. I have the option of eating fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. But for the time being, I eat fruit. I feel good. I am feeling better every day. This too seems like the perfect diet. Think how easy it would be for me if everyone ate this way. But oddly enough, some people I know think this is not the perfect diet. Even most people following the raw food diet do not want to eat this way. What is wrong with them? Don't they realize I have found the perfect way to eat?
I have read some blogs and some web sites that "advertise" veganism, raw food, 811, fruitarianism, as a cure all. I have even seen claims that people who follow this style of eating will never be sick. They claim this diet will insulate them from all physical ailments. Sometimes you see fights on raw food forums between people eating different styles of raw food. Only one can be perfect so one must protect one's turf, mustn't one?
So if there are arguments and non~agreement between people eating raw food, how can we decide which diet is best? How can we know who is right? How can we possibly convince the whole world to eat the way we do?
I do not think there is a perfect diet, or rather, I think there are lots of perfect diets. I think the perfect diet is the one that is stress~free, easy to follow, enjoyable, and can be thought of as little as possible. I am sick and tired of thinking about food and trying to determine what I should and should not be eating at any given moment. For right now I eat fruit. It is simple, delicious, and I feel great. Is it the diet for the whole world? Sure, if the rest of the world wants to eat this way and leaves me enough bananas and grapefruit to create my daily staple; the more the merrier. Am I trying to convince the whole world to eat this way? Nope. Do I think you are wrong if you eat meat, cheese, wheat grass, hemp seeds, super foods, olive oil, or pickled squid? That is not my call. You have to answer for your own choices.
What I would like to see is people loving each other more and agreeing to allow everyone to make their own choices about food. Many vegans see their way of eating as a moral choice. They believe animals deserve the same consideration humans do. They want everyone else to agree. But they are going about it in such a way that they offend others and have no chance at all of promoting their cause.
The first time I ever heard the word vegan spoken was at an open house at a local health food store. They had set out a beautiful spread for their customers. A slim, attractive, young woman came in and asked if there were any vegan choices. I cannot even remember what the owners said or what the choices were, but I do remember the girl. She looked disdainfully at each dish, tasted and made faces, asked a dozen questions about each offering, and seemed an altogether rude, judgemental, unpleasant person. Does she represent all vegans everywhere? Of course not, but she did to me that day. I still am not comfortable saying I am vegan to anyone outside the inner circle of raw foodists because she represents what a lot of people think vegans are.
So what are we to do if we think vegetarianism, veganism, raw veganism, low fat raw veganism, fruitarianism, or any other kind of ism is the perfect way to eat? My suggestion is to eat that way, set a good example, be kind, stop judging, show your glow, rawk your rawness, and accept that everyone may never agree with you and it's OK. Be the new face of veganism or vegetarianism, gentle, loving, and welcoming. Eat your food and allow everyone else to eat theirs, in peace. You just might be surprised by your former critics suddenly showing an interest in your lifestyle. How can you expect people to be concerned about the feelings of animals if they don't think you are concerned about the feelings of people? How can you care passionately about animals and continue to have a mean spirit toward those who disagree? Are humans less important than their animals brethern? By maintaining a loving non~judgemental spirit at all times you can live in peace with yourself and everyone else knowing you have done your very best and trusting everyone else to do the same. Isn't that the point?
Love & Sunshine!
Connie