I hear you. I am struggling with my own shortcomings regarding leaving off cruelty in its many forms. It has become apparent to me, through education, that I must become a vegan, and that is not an easy transition for me. My natural tendency is toward pleasure seeking in so many ways. So, I am committing myself to new kinds of pleasure, which includes kindness, nonviolence, and a peaceful heart.

Without these three, kindness, nonviolence, peaceful hearts, we cannot really change this world. It is so easy to blame others, to consider them less evolved than ourselves. But, to have a real dialogue which has any hope of reaching others we must respect all beings and their choices.

So, it has been hard for me to face my own self, to see why I have made my own choices, and to accept myself. All we can do is move forward, after all. Who can change what is already done?

Knowledge can be a painful thing to carry. What helps me is to remind myself each day to let it all go. Just let it go. Make your new start, each day. We live and learn, what else can I say?

I understand your question. My feeling is that I can respect people and their individual choices -- and still change this world from the inside out.

In that way, you don't need to see the world exactly as I do, and neither can I see it as you do. But we can share our realities, moment by moment.

I am influenced by others all the time. What I have learned proceeds from a mutual give and take between myself and others.

What I would describe as "others" includes other versions of what I call me -- a me which changes from moment to moment, dancing along with this planet we live on.

Peace is in the balance - the awareness of, and acceptance of change in oneself.

To continue, perhaps full comprehension of all change is not given to us in this lifetime, although we are able to fathom a small part of what "change" is. We cannot put life into a box, cannot squeeze all of life into our idea of what "time" is.

There was once a vegan called me -- in 1996 or 7, thereabouts. She ate a lot of pasta. She hadn't had a drink in 10 years or so. She was fit and active but she didn't know how to do this "vegan" thing and she ended up not liking it very well. What caused her to stop, what her first moment of eating meat again was, I can't even remember.

So, maybe someday, sometime, some otherwhere, there is a larger version of her who can pinpoint that exact moment, can read her mind, a larger version of her who understands her every movement through life, who can see "her" now and even see "her" future ahead of this particular day in which she writes on this forum.

It's all a big song and dance, isn't it? A nonstop Broadway show? What I choose, what you choose, today or in any moment of time.

For instance, after writing the first part of this particular post, I left. I rode my little electric vehicle home in the slow lane, the bicycle lane, to be exact, where I like to be. There, in the middle of the road, near my apartment, was a dead squirrel, a fresh one. Very fresh. Whole, healthy looking. Excuse the visual, if you are squeamish.

Now, is there some version of me which might be really hungry, in some otherworld, who might seize upon that moment and cook that squirrel into a tasty stew? Maybe. Would that be wrong? Hardly. Would my hunger be more important than the creatures who might feed on that squirrel in my absence? I don't know.

But, is that me, today? No, not really.

The point is, we can sit and analyze things all day long. But, if I want to be vegan, and I express my thoughts and feelings in a sincere way about it on a given day....there you go. You can love it or leave it. It's always your choice.

But, I still contend that we need those three things...who "we" are is anyone's guess.

I'm a vegetarian partly because I don't like the cruel and heartless manner in which billions of livestock animals are raised each year.

That fox hunt things sounds barbaric.  I didn't know it was a Christmas thing. Do they really believe that Jesus wants to see dogs tear up foxes?

The more we make exceptions for when we don't have to live according to love, the less we will be able to live according to love completely.  Who do we fool the most when we make excuses for unloving behavior?

hi bob isee and recoverer

I never ever brought lamb as i don't agree with lamb slaughter and im now true vegetarian,i dont eat meat,i know it wont make much difference to the world of slaughtering animals,but it makes a difference to me,because now when i eat a meal with no meat anymore,i feel good that an animal hasnt been ill-treated or slaughtered in fear for me to eat,my meals taste's so much better now.

fox hunting in england is not just at christmas recoverer ,its for the rich people and it happens at more times through the year,they always have a glass of wine before they set out,it breaks my heart,i feel it will be banned oneday.

love and god bless  love juditha xxx