animal rights books

5 Vegan Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

May 21st, 2015

Hello guys,

Recently I feel I have entered into one of the happiest periods in my life. (My new job is the culprit and I want to write more about it soon and what it is teaching me) but I have been thinking about some helpful vegan things I’ve learned recently that I wanted to share with you guys. So let’s get started! (as they say on youtube).

1. Gary Yourofsky

I have been watching the youtube channel of vegan animal liberationist Gary Yourofsky.

Wow, why hadn’t I watched him before?! I thought the whole “Best Speech Ever” thing was just gonna be boring stuff I already knew about veganism, but I didn’t understand that I was dealing with the most powerful, convicted, charismatic speaker about veganism I’d ever heard. He gets animal rights on such a gut level that you can’t help but agree with him that it makes perfect sense. He explains everything so clearly. And he’s not afraid to tell the truth no matter who he is speaking to.

That’s one thing I have struggled with–telling the horrific truth to people I come in contact with. I try to soften it for them a lot so they don’t become ashamed of themselves and feel attacked. But I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to tell people the truth and get them to see it too. I don’t want to lead by example anymore. In fact, I’ve never liked the idea of not speaking up and just letting people come to me when they are ready to turn vegan. I want to explain it to people and make them change. Most people think that is impossible, but Gary does it. I have been learning so much from him about how to be a better activist.

I am gonna keep watching him and read the articles on his website adaptt.org and get better.

2. The Importance of Sleep

I have a night job now and finally I get how important sleep is. In a way, this is a great experience because when I go back to focusing on my health over focusing on my exciting new job, I will finally give REST the respect it deserves and get early nights like Durianrider is alway saying.

3. Vegan Fruitarians

Guys, if you are at all interested in healing your body and the frontiers of extreme health, get thyself over to the group on Facebook Vegan Fruitarians. There you can get the expert guidance and trouble shooting of Squeegee Beckenheim of “How I Cured Myself From the Suicide Disease” fame and Natalie Lenka of “I Felt Alive for the First Time in my Life” fame (both people who cured themselves of allegedly incurable diseases on a raw vegan diet). This group is where it’s all going down!!! So don’t ask me…join them.

Recently I have been experimenting with more starch and even though I thought I was loving eating so many mashed potatoes and vegan gravy for a while, eventually I just had to admit that I wasn’t really feeling ideal on it, so I’m going back to my old ways of more fruit based than starch based. The potatoes kind of make me feel exhausted…but maybe it is the gravy mix I was using which was dehydrating me or something…I don’t know…but it’s like you just keep remembering in your head, I don’t feel like this when I eat fruit. Nothing seems to beat the fresh invigorating feeling of eating fruit. Thankfully it’s summer soon and all the good fruits are on their way <3

4. Vegan Shoes

I have your vegan shoe needs covered here. Seriously if you need cool sandals for summer look no further than my pinterest board. I do not make any money from my pinterest board, I just enjoy providing the service of finding the vegan shoes for people that are actually cool. If you click any of the pics on the pinterest board you can click through to where you can buy them all online. I recently bought this sandal and this sandal and they are awesome. Also, if you know anyone who needs stylish vegan shoes, feel free to send them this board. It’s good people! Am I right?

5. The Woodstock Fruit Festival

anne osborne

We all got an email saying it’s going to be the last year! No!! Hearing that makes me realize what an awesome experience it was. I’m sad I only got to go one year. I am planning on going this year too. People say it is expensive, but you get lectures from fascinating people every hour of the whole week. My favorite lecturers last year were John Kohler who has the biggest and best gardening channel on youtube and Anne Osborne, who is the coolest and nicest person and I think the longest term fruitarian?

John Kohler of Growing Your Greens on youtube

You also learn about true health and feel awesome for the week eating totally raw vegan, meet fascinating people and friends….and it was just a pretty fun time and that’s coming from a pretty shy person who doesn’t make friends that easily–moi.

Anyway, how are you guys? I would love to hear from you about what you are thinking about and how your vegan journeys are going. It sounds dumb to say vegan journey…but it is a journey…getting healthier, happier and being a better activist and all that.

Ttyl.

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Review of Animal Camp: Reflections on a Decade of Love, Hope, and Veganism at Catskill Animal Sanctuary

June 10th, 2013

I flew through the book Animal Camp yesterday, essays about Catskill Animal Sanctuary by its founder Kathy Stevens.

Its effects lingered on all day.

I couldn’t really tell what the feeling it left me with was.

It was a mix of confusion, wonder, disbelief and thinking about my two dogs I once lived with.

I felt confused all day.

It was like I had just read Charlotte’s Web. All the animals at The Catskill Animal Farm Sanctuary, like Old Rambo the sheep, who protected the farm and all the animals, and Franklin the pig, who laughed with the volunteers and liked to sit on a hill and watch the sunrise every morning, had such storybook personalities. They even communicated with Kathy all the time, telling her what they wanted, thanking her, and sharing their joys and sorrows with her.

It was like the animals at her farm could talk.

But animals can’t talk though… right?

I thought about my dogs all day yesterday. I had two dogs growing up.

I thought about their personalities.

How unlike humans they were in their understanding of nature, how they could smell the tracks of an animal in the grass, how they could sniff the wind out of a car window and understand so much about what was passing, how they could run so fast and jump and turn on a dime, also how pure and affectionate they were, loving and befriending me for some reason, like they could just sense who loved them the most.

Also I was thinking about how like humans they were. My dog Rolfy especially had a very human personality. He was very proud and haughty. He had a lot of self respect. He demanded to be treated like an equal. Sometimes I had the uncanny feeling of forgetting he was a dog and seeing him, like how in a dream a person can be two things, as a human.

What was that? That relationship I had with two DOGS.

That was love. Real love. And real friendship.

All day it brought tears to me eyes thinking about my two dogs. Though I intensely loved my dogs and never considered them “just” dogs, I think I did later discount their love in my life. Even though I truly loved them with all my heart, they weren’t human.

It doesn’t matter.

Humans and non humans can communicate and can share real love and friendship together.

One thing Kathy Stevens says often in her book is we are all more alike than different.

Just like we do, animals befriend each other more by personality than what they look like. Those interspecies friendships that are so adorable? Quite commonplace. Animals befriend who they get along the best with, no matter the species.

We are all more alike than different.

Honestly this is a hard thing to think about.

I never really understood this till now, that once you get to know animals, whether they are chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, horses…they are all just as human and amazing as your dog or cat… they each have a distinct incredible personality.

I don’t want to think about this.

There is one part of the book where Kathy passes a pig transport truck after she has had her sanctuary for a while and knows all her animals as friends. A pig looks at her through the holes in the truck and she starts a wail…and can’t stop.

I imagined seeing the eye of my beloved dog in there.

All animals have personalities that are more like us than not like us.

I need to go to an animal sanctuary.

Animal Camp is a beautiful peaceful storybook book, and one that will grow on you and keep you thinking about it…

It is almost like a fairy tale, but a vey dark fairytale with a happy ending.

You know how the story goes only a virgin pure of heart could summon a unicorn. They would send out this beautiful girl into a meadow and a unicorn would come out attracted by her kindness and gentleness. Then the hunters would leap out of hiding and kill the unicorn.

There are still the maidens out there and there are still the hunters out there.

Highly recommend this book.

animal rights, animal sancutary, animals, vegan shoes, veganism, vegans 8 comments