Hobbling Along the Vegan Trail

Well, vegan or even vegetarian eating for me can't be piecemeal. I can't be sorta vegan. I have to go whole hog, in a manner of speaking. The reason I say this is that in my life I have spent years flirting with changes, but ending up with the same habits I started with. If you're fairly healthy, you have a lot of room to play. I can see some signs that my time for that is up. It's because of the way my mind works. People addicted to substances know what I'm talking about. That little voice. Let me tell you, every hamburger I've eaten in the last two years was the last hamburger. This will not work for me.

This is amazing. I'm finally making up my own mind how to live, after a lifetime of allowing other people to tell me. I mean, they can talk, but it's just them talking. The clarity I'm feeling right now is astonishing. It really doesn't matter what other people think. They're not in my shoes. I'm not sitting here telling anyone else what or how to eat. Just myself. Once you recognize the truth, that's it. Clarity.

I have to cling to my decision, though. There are going to be a lot of temptations to eat things my mind knows better than to eat. Old habits die hard. 'Abdu'l-Baha once said, "When a thought of war comes, oppose it with a stronger thought of peace." When a thought of my daughter's leftover Hamburger Helper, seen in the kitchen after work, comes, I have to oppose it with a stronger thought of healthy eating. I'm having to pray and pray and pray some more about my decision to stop eating animal products, because of my habit of making exceptions all the time. This time, for my mental and physical health, it's necessary to be extremely strict.

Today for the first time I went to the Vegan restaurant, Quickie Too, a real anomaly and, as far as I know, the only Vegan restaurant in Tacoma. In the heart of the Hilltop area of Tacoma, with plenty of diversity and also rich in African American culture, is a wonderful restaurant owned and run by African Americans. So in walks this Wonder Bread girl, and I'm met by an elderly gentleman with dreadlocks and a colorful crocheted cap who hobbles out with a menu.

What choices! Every entree has a multitude of choices of preparation. So I eat a delicious Seitan Submarine sandwich with a flavorful side of rice and beans, a white linen napkin in my lap, the walls lined with Bob Marley posters and Bob Marley [I presume] playing. Too bad I had to hurry up and leave for work, ending up ten minutes late. Boy can these folks cook!