Tuesday, December 13, 2011

A vegan who sins

Well, new job means no time, as evidenced by the two-month hiatus. Two months isn't that long.

Day 17 and on: Success. Mostly.

I had a conversation at happy hour a few weeks ago about how flexible you can be with a very strictly defined diet like veganism, and how realistic those strict definitions are. Maybe it's just because I'm more conscious of what I'm eating, but it seems that's the trend among everyone else, too. Everyone is thinking about not just animal products and processed foods, but gluten and GMOs and local and live/raw. It gets really complicated as you try to do more of the right things, and it gets darn near impossible to do all the right things. You could make a part-time job of your diet without even trying very hard. That's not real life.

So, here's the analogy we came up with. You can be a good Catholic and still miss Mass sometimes and covet things. You can be a good Muslim and have a tattoo and alcohol.  
It's not really about the sins. It's about the good things you do. It's the intent.
The person I talked this all out with eats meat on the weekends only, which is awesome. Even my die-hard omnivorous friends are celebrating Meatless Mondays. It's about being mindful.

So, I'm perfectly happy and confident being a vegan who sins. I love eating less cheese... but I like eating a little cheese once in a while.
We had a cute date night yesterday and ended up at the Sugar Bowl. What beats coffee and ice cream (and pink) after a cute date?

It's about keeping it real and having your heart in the right place. That feels good.