Vegan, Vegetarian, Omnivore, Carnivore...How about Human Being???

So what are you anyway?  Are you a omnivore, flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan, healthier eater?  Even better are you a Republican or Democrat (since this is an election year)?  Do you identify yourself at all with these words or labels?  How about Human Being...

One of the things I have found most interesting on this journey of life is the penchant of people to categorize or label.  There are sound psychological reasons for this of course as it enables humans to make sense of the very complex reality that each individual human being really is.  The interesting part of this labeling is that we all do it, including me.  When it comes to food and healthy living, we have created all sorts of labels to describe or "group" people who do one thing or another.  What I find regrettable about labels is that many times they also come with stereotypes and judgements.  What do you immediately think of when I say vegan (or ovo-vegetarian, Republican, Democrat...)?

Are you a lacto-vegetarian, or better yet an ovo-vegetarian or both?  Maybe you're a straight up vegan or maybe a true omnivore?  What if you follow a strict vegan diet most of the time, but have visit your grandma's house and have a cookie that she made with eggs in it?  What if you are a vegan that eats Honey?  What does that make you then?  I submit that you are a human being, AND I would say that is more than enough.

Since we began Conveniently Natural, very interesting things have happened in our lives.  Some people who have been friends of ours for years have fallen away and new ones have sprung up from the most unlikely places.  Was this only because we started an organic, vegan delivery service?  Perhaps not the only reason, but a major one for sure.  I find that people who have know us for years now feel like they should apologize if they eat meat in front of us or (and this is even more interesting) they want to debate the vegan or vegetarian versus meat eating thing.  I typically point people in the direction of the immense amount of information out there about all kinds of diet and hope the person makes up there own mind.  That is, in my mind, our greatest gift - to be able to choose our way and what makes us truly amazing.

I recently had a great dinner with several friends, most of whom are not vegan or vegetarian.  There was light hearted banter, tasty food, and amazing fellowship.  I left feeling energized physically, mentally, and spiritually.  It didn't bother me that they ate meat, nor do I believe that it bothered them that I didn't.  We were gathered because we wanted to be there with each other and that is a very good reason to get together I think.  I submit that we are at our best when we do as Rumi said, "Out beyond the ideas of right doing and wrongdoing there is a field, and I will meet you there".  Let us all strive to meet in this field, free of judgment, and live our best (and eat our best too!).  Thanks for reading.

Peace -
Brian