Don't Worry, Be Happy

"If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying."
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama
http://www.dalailama.com/biography/questions-and-answers

How I came to be a vegetarian*

* well, mostly, and depending on whose definitions you're using...

I have been a die-hard omnivore with decidedly carnivorous leanings for nearly my entire life, up until about two weeks ago (mid-November 2011). Lately I've been renewing my focus on yoga (that's not just asana, people!), and as a result of this I've been making a concerted effort to be more present now. I'm trying very hard to focus on the positive aspects of my life, and to not let the negative things drag me down. (As my father would say, "non carborundum illegitimus".) I also find myself increasingly drawn toward the Buddhist notion that all suffering is ultimately a product of our own desires, dislikes, and the ever so human tendency to grasp and resist. So as part of this I've been trying to attend more openly and honestly to my own thoughts, actions, habits, etc., and to reexamine my assumptions. I also am trying to be aware of more mundane physical things like how I'm sitting, standing, walking, breathing, holding up my head, eating, driving, how tense or relaxed my muscles are, and so forth. It helps that I was also having some pretty bad shoulder and neck pain for a while there, which helped give me a very concrete, practical reason to figure out what I've been doing wrong.

Another helpful piece of setup is that we (my wife, our two young daughters and I) all lived temporarily with my in-laws. They love meat. L-o-v-e it. Let me say that again - they LOVE MEAT. Holy cow, do they love to eat meat (pun intended). There was steak, hamburger or roast at least 4 nights a week. The other nights were usually chicken, pizza or spaghetti with meat sauce. Did I mention they like meat? Much to my surprise at the time, I got tired of it. Really tired of it.

So we're a couple months past living in that environment and I'm trying to be more present all around, and all of a sudden, I realize that my body doesn't like meat. Seriously, that's what did it. I realized that it took way too long to digest and I felt heavy and sluggish after eating meat. I have had a host of other unpleasant side effects (use your imagination, there are children present) as well. So one day I stopped. I came home one day and told my wife that I hadn't eaten meat all day. The next day, same thing. I probably could have knocked her over with a feather or some other equally flimsy symbol of surprise.

And now? Well, I feel better. Really better. My guts don't churn and gurgle anymore. I feel lighter when I eat but I'm perfectly satiated. Food tastes better. Seriously, this is freakin' awesome.

Sure, there are some adjustments to be made as well. I notice that I get hungry more frequently a bit more quickly. Fortunately it doesn't take as much to fill me up. My options when eating out are a bit more limited, but I live in Texas, where there's a steakhouse at least every quarter mile (there's a law requiring it, I think).

Just like most everybody else, I've heard the complaint that a vegetarian diet doesn't leave many options. That's probably more true the further down the line you get (e.g. toward being vegan), but for my particular situation I don't find that to be a problem at all. Quite the opposite, really. As counter-intuitive as it seems, I actually feel like I have more options available to me! Maybe it's because I'm trying new things, but I really think that my options are just more open now that I'm no longer constrained by the assumption that the center of my meal will be meat.

To be fair, I've seen plenty of places where people would argue that I'm not a "real" vegetarian. I will no longer eat beef, poultry, pork or related mystery meats. I am continuing to have eggs and dairy, and I have been eating some seafood from time to time. So I suppose that makes me an ovo-lacto-vegetarian who also eats seafood. I found the word "pescatarian", but I don't know if anyone knows what that is - or if it's even a real word.

The coolest part about this is that overall this feels essentially effortless. I have not had the slightest craving for meat since I began this, despite eating with others who are chowing down chicken, burgers, and so forth. It just feels right.

This Blog

I've been thinking lately that I should keep some sort of log of my thoughts and experiences, so that's what this is for.

The title of this thing kind of gives away the general bent, but I certainly don't plan to limit this to just yoga, "deep thoughts", and such. We'll see, I suppose.