From Jordan Wyatt, Dictator for Life of the Invercargill Vegan Society and Podcaster Extraordinaire of Coexisting With Nonhuman Animals , comes this wonderful tribute to the birds with whom he lives. Seeing this video brings me both joy for witnessing these beautiful animals as well as simultaneous grief, knowing that so few of their species are allowed a natural environment, so few are recognized as individuals, so few are treated with any respect.

I love to watch how these Chicken Friends nestle in the bosom of Mother Earth. They seem at peace with one another and at home in their environment.  Do you suppose they know something we do not?

After hearing all the controversy regarding Ruby Roth’s new children’s book, Vegan Is Love, I was surprised to open the pages of her book to beautiful, gentle images. While I liked the artwork in her first book, this book appeared much more vibrant, much more appealing. The images of animal exploitation are representational rather than graphic. While the subject matter, animal exploitation, is very disturbing, Ms. Roth has somehow interwoven concerns for others with a very empowering message: anyone can choose to make a difference in the world. Anyone can choose veganism. Anyone can choose to love others rather than harm them.

Veganism is Love Widens the Scope

Ms. Roth has been the trailblazer for children’s books that explain veganism. Her prior work, That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals, integrates the amazing qualities of our fellow beings with their plight on this planet. Where her first work was focused specifically on not eating animals, this book has a wider scope. Neither book pretends to be all inclusive, theoretical, nor scientific, yet this new book includes pages about pollution, climate change, hunger, and violence. The ability to broach such important topics in a way that is understandable to even young children is part of what makes this book significant. What Ms. Roth is espousing is nothing short of a change in our attitude and relationship with other animals, and that message cannot come too soon.

Ruby Roth is Opening Minds Toward Change

From this reviewer’s vantage point, there is little to criticize in Ms. Roth’s beautiful work. The message of Veganism Is Love is about empowerment. Ms. Roth’s books as vehicles for discussion have proven to be useful. Most of the controversy about this book seems related to the anti-vegan sentiments of the status quo, ignorance about nutrition, and fear of change rather than particulars about Veganism is Love. Those who want things to remain constant are likely to object to a legion of empowered young children questioning their world.

One thing is certain, Ms. Roth has many people talking about veganism, and that is a very good thing.

A few weeks ago, I attended the DFW No Kill Workshop in Addison, Texas. Among the many inspirational speakers was vegan No Kill advocate, Nathan Winograd. Because I had heard so much negativity about the No Kill movement, I was eager to attend and learn about the movement firsthand. Was it true that this plan meant warehousing animals for months, even years? That it would mean leaving stray animals on the streets, with no place to house them? That it was irresponsible, requires large sums of money and enlarged shelters? The answers: no, no, and no, no, no. What No Kill advocates is much of what vegan activists advocate: a change in thinking. Once we change our belief system, everything else becomes possible. While few public shelters become 100% no kill, many make astounding strides in saving thousands of animal lives simply by changing their attitudes about possibilities.  Since only about 20% of animals are procured from our shelters, changing that statistic alone is bound to help.

Here are some interesting points:

• Most of the large animal advocacy groups oppose No Kill often misstating what it means
• Local shelters which have moved towards No Kill have reduced kill rates significantly
• Many shelters kill even when they have ample open cages
• The biggest single change required is a change in attitude: all animal lives matter!

Can No Kill Mean Vegan?

While most No Kill advocates are not yet vegan, some are vegan. It would be my hope that the No Kill movement would eventually widen to include all animals, not just companion animals. As an ethical vegan, there is concern for the animals in the tins, the ones that are fed to all the rescued shelter animals; we have to be concerned for their lives, too. Ending all pet breeding would be a start in the right direction, but when large wealthy groups like HSUS support pet breeding, it is doubtful that will happen anytime soon. Educating adopters about feeding their newly adopted dogs plant-based foods would be a good idea, too, but if they are still eating animals themselves, there is much education that needs to take place before that can happen.

Seagoville in our North Texas area saved 97% of the animals in their care in 2011, saving all but 15 of the 568 animals in their shelter. Other neighboring shelters which have not adopted the No Kill ethic had save rates as low as 33%. Our local animal shelter has a supportive group of volunteers that are bringing the kill ratios down significantly by a determination to value each and every life that enters the shelter. They know these animals by names they have given them; they promote them on social media sites. They attend mobile pet adoption events and help to get the word out to their friends. They fundraise and work hard to increase fosters so that more animals can get out of the shelters with their lives. And it is working.

Valuing the Invisible Animals, Too

The kill rates for slaughterhouses are close to 100%. We currently have no way to get those animals out of the treacherous lines marching them to their death. However, the same change in thinking which has caused such dramatic drops in killing for domesticated companion animals, must be changed for animals commodified for food, clothing, and entertainment. We must not tolerate the abuse and torment of animals for product testing or scientific research. If animal lives matter, and they do, we must widen the idea of No Kill to be all inclusive. It is appalling to me that Nathan Winograd has been attacked by other animal activists, by large animal advocacy groups that themselves kill thousands of animals, and by the ignorant who do not understand what the No Kill ethic is and how it works. But I still have one question that I was unable to get answered the day of the No Kill Workshop: as an ethical vegan, how can we increase the ethic of No Kill to include all animals, regardless of species?

On the way to the gym last Saturday morning, my little grandson noticed someone had posted “Eating Animals” below the STOP on the stop sign. He asked me if I did it.  I said no. He then asked me if one of my friends did it. I said I did not know who did it, but I was glad they did it. Maybe it would make someone stop and think. I mentioned I wanted to get a picture of it and he offered to take the picture as it was on his side. I also mentioned I did not believe in defacing public property, but this was  a sticker and could easily be removed. Next time I drove by, it had been.

Believing in Bugs (and other small creatures)

I often wonder what it is like to be so very young and see the roots of such massive social change underway, to have one of your closest emotional ties be someone who is invested in changing things that your own immediate family is doing. The same grandson that defended the life of a bug on the first day of school, callously stepped on a bug on the way to school  a few days ago. Even his older brother was shocked. When asked why he did it, he had no answer. After school, we discussed bullies and how size has little to do with importance. We talked about how bugs try so frantically to get away from us, how they seem to want to live as much as we do. My grandson said he wanted to go home; he didn’t like the talk much. It made me sad to see him go, but I knew I had to discuss what transpired on our walk to school. It was too important to ignore.

Later, he came by with his big brother’s friend, and said, “I’m sorry.”

I asked him the next day why he apologized. Was he really sorry or did his mum make him say that?

“Both,” he said.

I know some of his internal conflict is between what he is taught at my house and what the boys on the playground do. He has shared some of their antics with me and it is sadly what one might expect. He watches the older boys play violent video games and knows I object; I do not think killing should ever be for fun, even in a game. I know on the playground that bugs are fair game. So, apparently,  are tender hearts.

Veganism is Love = A Storm of Controversy

It has been interesting to see the controversy from the recent publication of Ruby Roth’s new book, Veganism is Love. While I will withhold judgment until I read the book (we pre-ordered a copy), I thought her first book was a useful tool in helping my grandson understand about those of us who have stopped eating animals. Some folks find it more objectionable to talk about the killing of animals than actually killing them. I appreciate that someone used their time and talent to present our vegan side of the story, even in part; I hope more people will follow Ms. Roth’s lead. I hope that in the future, there will be books about the days when people used to eat animals, and the young children will be horrified that the things of today ever existed at all.

Earlier in the week, my grandson had discovered what appeared to be a dead butterfly. He asked for my help, and I carefully moved the animal to a small curved dish, a cradle made from a bit of broken pottery on his front porch. There was also a bug that was turned over on his back and appeared to by dying. I turned him over and we moved him to another shard of pottery.  Later, we returned to see both animals had survived. My little grandson seemed so elated when he found his little friends were alive! I think his confusion over his feelings for other animals does not belong just to him, but is a reflection of the society into which he was born. There are those who unconsciously eat animals, and those who put stickers stating “Eating Animals” below stop signs, those who object to truth-telling books like Veganism is Love and those who share the earth gratefully with other animals. I hope my grandson will become one of the people who appreciates others, whether they look like him or not, whether they have feathers, fur or scales. It is, after all, his own journey; I am just privileged to be along for this early part of the ride.

Blogging is an evolving pursuit.  When I began, I would rush to the computer every day to see where my readers were located; I had a map that logged each reader by adding a dot in that country. Watching that map grow darker and darker with dots was exhilirating! It also made me consider carefully what I wrote. I was very new to veganism and, like the blog of my journey, just a fledgling; I had much to learn. I still do.

Bubba the Vegan

I originally balked at starting a blog. I did not want to spend all my time in front of a computer screen. It was something my adult children asked me to do, to make vegan recipes available to the public. They suggested I call the blog, “Bubba the Vegan,” since Bubba is the name my grandkids call me and since that name usually means a big guy that eats a lot of those I am trying to protect. They liked the irony. Veganacious was only a place-saver, a name I had used to keep the beginning blog saved while I decided on a more permanent name. I am still waiting for the lightning bolt of inspiration that will signify just the right name to capture just what I wanted to say, the perfect name for my blog. Meanwhile, I am still Veganacious – a tenacious vegan.

Last year I promised these changes:

• Many, many more recipes
• Printable recipes
• Feedback for recipes
• New categories

The printable recipes, feedback system and new categories all happened. But the number of recipes, while there, are still in draft form. I joined the ARZone site admin team a little over a year ago, and coupled with the start of our local animal rights group, Animal Rights and Rescue of North Texas, I was ill prepared for the overwhelming demands on my time. I was doing pretty well until ARZone went to podcasting. At that point, my blog, directory, the podcasts, and my recipe site all took a hit while my energy was dissipated among far too many activities.

Making Time for Change

This year, after resigning my post at ARZone, I have plans to pay more attention my own pursuits. The recipe site has a brand new look and, while it is still incomplete, there are dozens of recipes in draft form that will surface this year. My emphasis has moved towards building our local AR group and getting the word out about animals here in the DFW area. We have just completed our first tabling event, which was a collaboration with the UTA (University of Texas at Arlington) Vegan Club. Someone estimated we reached over 3,000 people during that event on the UTA campus. Starting that group has meant starting yet another blog, Facebook page and Twitter account, too.

Goals for this year include:

• Completing the recipe site and keeping the recipes coming
• Posting more frequently about the movement: the people, the issues, the challenges
• Podcasting at least monthly, hopefully more frequently, and including more people in the shows
• Continuing book reviews and adding the occasional film review
• Profiling some of the interesting people in the movement

The Fascinating World of Vegan

Thank you to everyone who helped me learn and grow, to become a more effective activist, who shared so generously with your time by being on the podcasts, inspiring a recipe, or sharing an idea that became a blog post. Thank you to the ARZone team for letting me spend time with you, for working to increase understanding about animal rights. Thank you to the ARRNT folks for supporting our mission and helping us make changes locally, for your willingness to step forward in the fight. Thanks, too, to everyone who reads an article or leaves a comment here on the blog.
Who knows? Anything might happen this year; the possibilities are endless!

 

Indiana Jones Theme

I was fortunate to be offered the amazing experience of going with my diverse family on a Mediterranean cruise recently, to Spain and Portugal. While it was intriguing to witness other cultures and get far from my prairie home, it also seemed to motivate me to keep the adventure going upon my return. With the devastation that is climate change reminding us all to use energy sparingly, it seemed that there must be someway to find  creative opportunities for exploration and discovery especially for those of us with the vegan ethos.

Traveling Online

One of the ways I have been traveling without leaving home is through the wonderful podcasts of Travel with Rick Steves, available free on iTunes. I had taken a few on my iPod to listen to on my recent vacation, but found a world more upon my return. Mr. Steves does an admirable job of making each destination come alive just by listening to his show. I would avoid the food episodes though; I find them disturbing, and you might as well. Here is a clip to give you an idea of how intriguing his presentations are:

Travel with Rick Steves

Not only do I now enjoy traveling the world with Mr. Steves, but he also led to me discover another creative armchair traveler, Sasha Martin.

Eating Around the Globe: The Global Table Adventure

Sasha called in to one of his podcasts as I was listening, and proved to be positively inspirational. Sasha has a website, complete with a global map, that shares her journey cooking the globe. While Sasha is not vegan, at least not yet, she does have both vegetarian and vegan recipes galore. I was amazed at some of the wonderful possibilities for increasing my vegan food repertoire after perusing her blog. Sasha is trying to bring the world together by increasing understanding and familiarity with other cultures. Expect to hear more from this amazing, creative woman in the future. Here is part of my conversation with Sasha:

Sasha Martin interview

Global Table Adventure Vegan Recipes  

One of the ways we helped our children and grandchildren to experience the world was by hosting foreign exchange students. We had students from Sweden, Japan and Denmark over the years.  We had a French sailor over for dinner, an opportunity that arose from my French class when I was a high school student. After our first Japanese student spent one summer with us, she returned to attend the International School in Los Angeles, and continued visiting us, often bringing one or more friends with her from various parts of the world. At one point, she came back to see us with a room full of young students, some who had never been in an American home before they came into our tiny condominium. These kids graced our home with enthusiasm, appreciation, and affection. It was a wonderful way to learn about the rest of the world through other young people and truly enriched life for the children in the family, too.

Jurassic Park Theme

Supporting Sanctuaries: Adventures That Help

Since animals are a priority for me, I have a particular interest in sanctuaries around the world. I was fortunate to be able to visit a couple here in Texas, including the beautiful primate sanctuary, Primarily Primates, located in San Antonio. Unlike our exchange students, who would be returning to their native lands, these animals would never return home, but fortunately have found a safe and beautiful home far from their birthplace. Listening to the individual stories of so many animals helped to bridge not only the geographic differences but also the species barrier. I just discovered an old elephant friend is residing in a sanctuary in a nearby state and hope to visit her someday soon. (My Not Forgotten Friend, Tarra) There is also a farm animal sanctuary that may be an upcoming meetup destination for our local animal rights groups. And, there are sanctuaries in far away places like Africa that use volunteer labor — a way to incorporate a visit with doing something constructive to improve the lives of animals abroad. Your local sanctuary may also allow volunteers; many need every bit of help they can find to survive these days, so any financial support is much appreciated as well. Encourage your local sanctuary to adopt a vegan message, too, if at all possible.

Vegan Resources for Travelers Online

If you are fortunate enough to be able to travel, there are many vegan resources to assist you. There is Vegan Backpacker, a site which provides information for vegan travelers around the globe. You can find nation-specific information as well as global hints for ease in traveling. If you would like to connect with vegans around the globe, consider Vegan Around the World Network, a website that boasts over 2,000 members from most corners of the planet. And Marty’s Flying Vegan Review has information for those traveling in the U.S. as he offers reviews from places he visits as a charter pilot. There are also many vegan retreats, spas, and bed & breakfast establishments geared toward pleasing vegan travelers, from a Paris B&B to an upstate New York forested retreat. For further information, check out the listings on The Vegans Directory.

Gentle World: The Ultimate Vegan Destination

Gentle World is also a possible destination for the vegan adventurer. With locations in both Hawaii and New Zealand, Gentle World has worked for decades to educate and provide resources advocating the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. With me today to help us learn more about this unique community is Angel Flinn.

Angel Flinn Interview

[NOTE: WWOOF stands for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms.]

There is an excellent article called Vegan Travel: A Beginner’s Guide  on the Gentle World website that is sure to help you in planning your next move. Be sure to check out the Gentle World site for excellent informational articles for vegans, too.

Sing Out by 10,000 Birds

Two or three years ago, I met an engaging young man at our local farm animal sanctuary. We were both there to work for the day, engage with the animals, and share vegan fare.  I left quite impressed with the intelligence and sensitivity of this man; we exchanged online contacts and went our separate ways.  Now, these many months later, we have reconnected after each of us starting vegan-related groups in our respective areas, mine an animal rights group and his a vegetarian society. No longer a fellow Texan, Adam Weitzenfeld is now back in his native Chicago, at least for now. He is definitely a man on the move, and someone who has thought deeply and carefully about the human-nonhuman alliance, social justice, and creative campaigning. Recently, the Institute for Critical Animal Studies recognized Adam with their Hilda Scholar of the Year award.

Interview with Adam Weitzenfeld*

Sing Out by Cat Stevens

___________

*There is a momentary computer disconnect at about 7:30 – the missing words are “people of” (color).

H.E.A.L.T.H. blog

Vegans of Color

Recently, I witnessed about a dozen 12-year-olds poking at what appeared to be a small animal on the ground with large boards and sticks, about three or four doors down from my front yard. The kids were screaming and laughing about whatever the animal was doing in response to their poking him. I went down and asked them to stop it, thinking I might be able to protect whatever small animal it was. To my shock, it was a beautiful tropical lizard, rather large, who was reacting to the prodding by thrashing about. The kids yelled, “It has no head, it has no head!” and sure enough, something had happened to this poor creature and the head was absent. Nonetheless, the body was still quite active. No one knew where the head was or what had happened to this animal; one of the boys said it had been there the day before.

What To Do With a Headless Lizard

I quickly went home, put on gloves, and brought a cardboard box down and removed the remains of the lizard to the box. This stopped the squeals of the kids (although my grandson said it would be all over school the next day, this tale of the living headless lizard). The lizard’s body remained still and whatever life remained in it quietly ebbed away.

I immediately called our local wildlife rescue, whose emergency number I keep in my contact list. I think the woman answered thought I was deranged, because she told me to call reptile experts to see if lizards can live without a head. My questions was more along the lines of stopping any immediate suffering, although without a head, I wasn’t sure what would receive any pain sensations. But that lizard’s body had some fight in it when I approached the scene, and the children had witnessed it.

I felt sick after witnessing the kids’ giddiness in dealing with the injured body of the lizard. One girl was trying to kick the lizard to the grass at the side of the walk. I know she meant well, but it seemed so disrespectful to this once beautiful animal. I asked her, “Would you want someone kicking your body aside if you were the one injured?” The truth is, no one knew what the kindest thing would be; not one of us ever had to deal with a beheaded body before. I rather hope this is not something that will ever occur again, either.

Becoming the Crazy Lizard Lady

I think I have now become the Crazy Lizard Lady of the neighborhood. My grandson quipped that if you want to rescue animals, this is what you get — sometimes, the animal is a headless lizard that no one quite knows how to help. The lizard posed no threat to anyone; with no head, he was unable to bite, or fight, or get away. But the pathos of what seemed to be a living body detached from a thinking head was frightening to the children, and they reacted by screaming and inquisitively investigating the body’s response to stimuli. The  lizard’s body never moved once he was peacefully put into the box but I admit I found the whole ordeal unsettling. It triggered the helplessness one often feels in combatting the human supremacy and speciesism that reduces life to death to commodification.

This large lizard appeared to be an exotic breed, not a local animal. The exotic pet trade results in unnecessary deaths for millions of animals. In fact, right here in the DFW area, the nation’s largest rescue of exotic animals took place two years or so ago, from reptiles to mammals to insects to birds. Over 26,000 animals were confiscated, and some 500 different species of animals were involved. With the help of local rescue workers and the SPCA of Texas, 22,000 animals survived the move and subsequent care. How very tragic to see a beautiful member of a species of lizard reduced to a frightening spectacle on the sidewalk, far from what may have been his or her native home. And how sad for these children to be so unaware of the plight of these animals even as they are being divested of an opportunity to appreciate them. This strange experience left me in despair, both for the individual animal and his wasted opportunity for life, as well as for the children that will inherit this shrinking world of wildlife and biodiversity. We were all left wondering who or what claimed the head of that lizard, what his story was, and how he came to be on the sidewalk on the route home from public school. The headless body seemed to epitomize the daily disasters we in the animal rights movement find all too familiar, a physical embodiment of human detachment from the natural world that results in tragedy, every minute of every day.

Over twenty years ago, I had friends that lived in the canyon behind my home. Up the winding road, outside of town, they had a cozy property with a pool, making it ideal for summer parties. Next door lived a young woman about my age who cohabitated with many captive animals. She seemed to be attracted to tropical species, and I remember feeling badly for the beautiful birds and other small animals living in cages in that canyon in California, far from their native homes and original families. The area was awash with native life, in particular a variety of flying bugs, that survived well in the dry, high heat of summer and the cold, bitter temperatures of winter there — hardly suitable for tropical beings. I never knew if they were all rescued or had been acquired, but I did find out that the woman living there had ties to the Moorpark College Exotic Animal program. I remember envying her life among the animals. Not only were there several dogs and the caged animals, but there was a magnificent Burmese elephant named Tarra.

A Connection That Claimed My Heart

When I first met Tarra, she showed off by crushing soda cans with her trunk, then dropping them and checking me out with her whiskery snout.  She was a lovely, gentle being who had to use great restraint when walking among us fragile, relatively tiny humans,and I was the tiniest of them all, weighing barely 90 lbs and reaching up to five feet tall if I stood very straight. We walked down to the creek, and Tarra sprayed us all and enjoyed the water.  She was oh-so-careful about moving among us non-elephants. When it was time to go, she claimed my heart by standing on my sandals so I could not leave. I felt the same way.

Later, when her caretaker was out of town, my friends and I were charged with watching Tarra. I remember her running away from us once, toward the road, terrifying us lest she run into traffic, get injured, or cause an accident. But she was only romping, enjoying the sun, and relishing giving us a bit of a chase. She had a lot of spirit then. It seemed sad to me then and still does now that this magnificent herd animal was living in such an alien, inhospitable land, alone, away from her clan, without much to do for entertainment or that gave her consolation or joy. I had no idea that in the wild she would be traversing many miles per day with the company of her herd. It was only recently that I learned how hard her entire life had been. She had been torn from her mother at only one year of age, then left in the back of a truck for the year following that, and finally taken for use in entertainment by the young woman I mentioned earlier in this post. Tarra had to work for her living, and she roller-skated and painted her way through the years. Tarra found her way to an elephant sanctuary, where she famously became best friends with a canine. Her beloved dog friend, Bella, recently died, leaving Tarra bereaved.

Looking for an Old Friend in All The Wrong Places

I tried to find Tarra several times before, but I was looking in the wrong places. I had seen the viral video (above) on YouTube of Tarra the elephant who had befriended a dog, but that elephant lived in Tennessee and Tarra had been a California girl, like me. A recent search, inspired after witnessing the sad spectacle of elephants in a forced parade through a European town, gave me the determination to find Tarra this time. It is comforting to know she is in a place where she no longer has to entertain humans, and where she can live with others of her species. Although for Tarra, she seems ahead of all of us when it comes to non-speciesist living — species hasn’t mattered too much. She has always been able to see beyond our exterior to the person beneath the skin and fur.

Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry, Be Happy

I would encourage anyone interested in the vegan movement to get involved in any way that suits you: start a group, educate your neighbors, or join in social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. One of the difficulties, though, of being an online vegan with a voiced opinion is the negativity one may receive from others whose views diverge from yours. While one would hope that our shared commitment to a harm-free life, or as harm-free as possible, would be a tremendous unifying force, it often feels like all our repressed anger at the plight of animals somehow gets released within our movement. Despite our minority status in the world, we are not a cohesive group of folks. Being able to move beyond the mainstream thinking, to accept what is often painted as a radical lifestyle or an extremist political statement, means that by our very nature, we are an independent lot. We have failed to become properly socialized into accepting animals as things. We are sensitive and may easily empathize with other beings. Our filters, which might allow us to ignore what we know like so many others in order to remain comfortable and go about our daily lives, do not work that well. We see. We feel. We know.

Because of the overwhelming task of social change, of our desire to awaken the masses and eradicate speciesism, it is easy to get discouraged. Like in all families, our vegan family often gets the worst of it, for it is within that family that much of the stress and strain must be worked through. And like in all families, this causes the most distress for the most vulnerable among us. Our anger, which is a source of energy, may become toxic if not channeled properly towards solutions. If vegans cannot figure out how to live peacefully with other vegans, how can we ever begin the radical inclusion that Dr. Will Tuttle suggests, where animals are part of our consideration, how can we wrestle with that energy that gets released due to our frustration and personal injuries, and then direct it into positive action for animal liberation? If we really believe in non-violence and peace, how can we use those beliefs to increase the peacefulness of interactions within our movement?

Passive Violence 

Here is a clip from APM’s The Story with Dick Gordon, discussing what Arun Gandhi learned from his grandfather about passive anger and himsa.

APM The Story: Searching for Change

This is a brief clip from Arun’s interview with Dick Gordon and is part of a wonderful series called Searching for Change. You may find it available on iTunes.

This leads us to re-examine what we are doing to spread peace, to build a more peaceful world. Certainly, becoming vegan and letting go of the violent exploitation of others is part of the process. But if we are creating himsa to others by our very response to them, we are defeating some of the good we might achieve. Think of a teacher who wants to impart wisdom to others. An effective teacher does not become enraged when the student asks questions, or fails to agree with the teacher’s logic. They share what they are teaching and allow the student to absorb what they will. Force feeding, of any kind, is just another form of violence.

The solution-focused aspect of Arun’s anger journal is such an important idea. As a therapist, I often found people were afraid of their anger because they did not know what to do with it and it often became destructive when given free reign in their lives. If we think about anger as a signal, like an electrical impulse, we can begin to view it as empowering. But, when someone is snapping at our heels, we may fail to realize they are acting out of fear, and feeling threatened ourselves, snap back. Please listen to what Sri Raghuram of Yoga Bharati has to say regarding fear and himsa.

Sri Raghuram

Violence in Thought, Word, and Deed

One of the ways to disengage from online drama and dissension is to allow the other person to be responsible for their own illumination. If one leaves a comment that is respectful, realize the other person may or may not accept truth to be as you see it. The other person has an entire lifetime of  experiences that colors their perception of the world; you are only able to plant a tiny seed, and seeds take time to grow. Like with child-rearing, often the best we can do is model the behavior we wish to see. We may tell our children how to behave, but they learn far more from watching our own behavior in the world. Keep in mind, too, that online, many silent people may be reading the exchange and may be impacted by your ideas.  It always seems that there is much to be learned from dissenters, too. Recently I took part in a Facebook thread that was becoming challenging. It was only hours later that I was able to understand what the other person was trying to communicate. Part of the barrier was the tone of the other person’s post, and an equally large part was my own defensiveness in rushing to explain and protect a colleague that did not need me to defend them at all. If I had allowed the other person’s opinion to stand and let others read it, then they would be free to decide if it was a valid point or not.  I realized I had unintentionally caused himsa and vowed to be more cautious in the future.

Ravi Shankar

Here are a few word from Sri Swami Sivananda regarding the more subtle forms of himsa:

The vow of Ahimsa is broken even by showing contempt towards another man, by entertaining unreasonable dislike for or prejudice towards anybody, by frowning at another man, by hating another man, by abusing another man, by speaking ill of others, by backbiting or vilifying, by harbouring thoughts of hatred, by uttering lies, or by ruining another man in any way whatsoever. 

Harm Through Abuse and Neglect of Earth

There are other ways we may unknowingly generate himsa, too. If we fail to show concern for the earth, if we fail to recycle, or comsume too much of any resource, that is himsa. When we harm the earth, we also harm the inhabitants of the earth by destroying their home. Every purchase we make takes the resources of the earth for ourselves, but it is infrequent that we consider how this impacts those we do not know or see, those animals, both human and nonhuman, who are affected by our choices. There are many ways our lives may cause harm to others, and we cannot totally eradicate all of them, but still, we must do the best we can. Deepening my awareness of the breadth of himsa has helped me to view my own actions in a new light; and I hope it will help you as well. It takes pressure off your aim to change the world and instead emphasizes that which is within your control — your own behavior.

We do not all have the wonderful grandfather that Arun Gandhi had to guide us towards ahimsa, but we may all learn from the teachings that Arun is sharing around the world. It took sharp words from another person to awaken me to my own creation of himsa to others, however unintentionally. I thought because I did not believe in physical force, it meant I was non-violent; I thought I was supporting ahimsa. But once I realized the broader view of himsa, I realized I still had much work to do to become the person I wanted to be. Like Arun, there have been times I have wanted to fight back, even with words, in self-defense. Learning, instead, to redirect the energy towards something more positive, more solution-focused, will release much more energy for the things I think are significant in life. It also helps me to feel more peaceful  and empowered as well.

The Active Force of Ahimsa is Love

Ahimsa is not merely the passivity of avoiding physical force or hurtful words and actions. It is still more, an active role of love and forgiveness that should radiate from the being who practices and believes in it. In our western world, it may feel alien at times, since independence and exploration of the outer world has dominated our thinking, rather than introspection and interdependence. Looking at the world and all those who lives within her more holistically, we realize that we are like cells in a single organism, with each cell’s survival intimately connected with the wellbeing of those around us. Becoming more active in our understanding of Ahimsa requires some effort and much self-discipline.  This can have a positive impact on your advocacy, because your focus will remain on your own empowerment rather than an external focus on the actions of others. To have peace without, we must start with peace within. Learning to remain peaceful in light of disagreement is essential in world affairs, as well as within our homes, communities, and the vegan family itself.

 Peace by Asa