What is your journey?
This week I asked on Facebook, what is your journey?
"We are all on a journey. This lifetime, what is your journey? Mine is all about the animals. I am an advocate for them and this lifetime that is my purpose, my reason for being and this is the journey I am on."
In a similar vein, I posted the following question on my personal Facebook page:
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
I got some really inspiring and heartwarming responses relating to animals, making people happy, and helping all beings.
You may be thinking, what does this have to do with plant based eating?
Oh my friend, whatever your journey is, you can be pretty sure that it will relate to a value or values that you hold dear.
If your journey relates in some aspect to animals, the environment, your health, your family's health, global health, sustainability, nature, love and respect for all beings, local communities, (the list goes on), plant based living is a relevant factor.
How is plant based living relevant to these factors?
Research shows that adopting a plant based diet can have positive effects on the environment (reducing greenhouse gas emissions, preserving habitats for wildlife) and our health (decreasing the incidence of Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and cancer, increasing life span).
A plant based diet also has immense benefits for animals.
Simply put, choosing a plant based diet means:
Less animals confined.
Less animals treated poorly.
Less animals slaughtered.
Less animals who suffer.
Even reducing the amount of animal products you consume can have positive effects for the environment, health and animals. The less animal products you consume, the lesser the demand for animal products, the less that is produced and therefore the lesser negative impacts of producing animal foods naturally exists.
The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own.
No apologies or excuses.
No one to lean on, rely on, or blame.
The gift is yours -
it is an amazing journey -
and you alone are responsible for the quality of it.
This is the day your life truly begins.
I love this quote.
To me, it resonates perfectly with what we're talking about here.
The day you decide your journey is the first day of the rest of your life.
It is the day that you identify with why you're here, what you're here to achieve.
And every day after that, you get to choose how you live it. You get to take the steps that get you closer to where you want to be, at the end of your journey.
You decide what is your own.
You are responsible for the quality of it.
So if you value animals, the environment, your health, your family's health, global health, sustainability, nature, love and respect for all beings, local communities, is a plant based diet relevant to your journey? I think if you're reading this, it is [smile].
When you decide your life is your own, and you claim that 100%, that is the day your life really beings. Embrace your journey. Live it. Breathe it.
So tell me. Who are you? Why are you here? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below about your journey... Do you know your journey? Where are you at on your journey? How does your journey make you feel? xx
Want to read more on this topic, check out my blog 'Find Your Why So You Can Thrive'.
Read more about the benefits of adopting a plant based diet here:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/making-the-switch-to-a-vegetarian-or-vegan-diet
http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/is-a-vegetarian-or-vegan-diet-for-you
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662288/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19386029
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4991921/
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