A Vegan turns 50 !

So the Big Day arrived last week. My 50. Birthday. Half a Century. It sounds sooooo old :).

Luckily most people think me younger which I don’t totally allocate to my Vegan Lifestyle. My parents never really looked that old before they passed away. My Grandmother was 91 when she died (she lived by herself almost to the end) so Genetics play a part here I guess.

I am not sure how to feel when you are Fifty. I do not feel different from being Forty at all. Also – like most people maybe – I think I am very different from my Parents in their Fifties but again, that might be down to Perception?

Whatever the Case, age does not really matter in the end. What matters is the Life you have. The Choices you make. We all live in unprecedented Times and right now it seems that this is never going to Change. But it will as it always has. Our Plans might be on hold and it might feel that our Freedom has been taken away from us. 100 Years ago, the Life we are having now was probably the Norm to most people. They worked, raised a Family, went for Walks when they could. There was no TV, Entertainment was limited to a certain amount. Life was simpler, even humble I guess. As much as I miss being able to Travel or have a Coffee in my favourite Café, I also appreciate that life seems somewhat slower. I guess now is the best Time to reflect upon your Life. Are you Happy the Way things are working out? If not, take this Opportunity, take the Chance and make the Change you might need.

Looking back on my 50 Years, some Events stand out:

Becoming a Mother
Becoming a Vegan
Making my Dream come true and move to Scotland
Starting my own Business
Publishing two Novels
Finding the most Wonderful Man I could have hoped for

At this stage in my Life I am in the Happy Position to say that I don’t miss anything. I am not craving something I don’t have. I am not Sorry for missed Opportunities.

Life is for living – let’s just do that!

Advertisement

Biography

My own Vegan journey actively began seven years ago. I had been a Vegetarian twelve years prior to this decision so the step wasn’t a very big one for me at the time.

I grew up in Germany (I live in Scotland now) where meat is an essential part of the diet. My mother would prepare many meat dishes and taught us how to cook them when I was a child. There was and still is actually a local speciality that is made with horse meat and I remember that I liked it when I was wee. Today I find this rather unbelievable! I naturally became a Vegetarian throughout the years. I never liked to eat Rabbit, Duck or Black Pudding and cut down on Pig meat, then Beef and eventually only ate Chicken or Turkey. Once even that became a rare occasion, I stopped eating meat full stop. So you could say I was a Pescetarian as I did eat Fish. I consumed Eggs, Cheese, Milk and every other Dairy produce.

It was in 2011 when a colleague of mine brought a magazine to the office. The front page asked “Are Vegetarians better people?”

So I borrowed the paper and read the long article. One part of it was speaking about Veganism, which of course I knew at the time but never really thought about. I learnt some things about mass production for the Dairy industry and the issues around Eggs. I was curious and wanted to learn more, so I sat down and did my research online. I have to say, I was shocked. Very shocked indeed. I was unaware of the abuse going on, the circumstances under which this food was produced. The videos and photos I had seen haunted me for a long time and it was then and there that I decided to follow a Vegan diet.

It was not difficult at all. At this point there were many supermarkets and organic shops around and alternatives were easy to be found. I actually felt I had stepped into a new world. I tried so many new things, new tastes, new foods. Whereas I thought I had to cut down on food, I actually increased the variety.

I most certainly did not become a Vegan from one day to the other. It took some months and I changed things step by step. Once I had swapped the food, I started to look into cosmetics, cleaning products and clothes. I never knew how many things were produced by using some part of an animal. I still learn new things today.

Becoming a Vegan is a journey, like life is a journey. We can always learn, change and adapt.

All I can say is that I never looked back, wishing I hadn’t changed my life in this way. I am glad that I do my wee part for the sake of  animal rights and welfare.

Maybe you already do as well or maybe you just think about it. Whichever it is, I am glad you are here reading my blog!