Exactly as they are.
Recently I was having tea with a friend, and out of the blue she said, "I can't be raw vegan because I have to have meat for protein."
I was concerned. Does she think I'm judging her for eating meat? Or does she feel she needs to make it clear that our friendship is not based on a common food lifestyle?
I was a little worried. I strongly value my friendship with her. Food can be such an integral part of social life that having a different food lifestyle can make it a challenge to maintain old friendships. I don't want her to feel uncomfortable because we eat differently, and I certainly do not want her to feel like she is being proselytized to by me.
What I support for her is to have choices, to exercise those choices, and to thrive in those choices.
Being in the minority in the raw food lifestyle can be a little lonely at times. However my health is important enough to me that I will do what I must to maintain it, even if it makes socializing a bit challenging. I do feel passionate about it, but I want to work on making it clear that my passion for what I am doing does not negate my respect for my friends and the choices they make.
This is really no different than being friends with people who also home school their children but practice a different faith, and having friends who practice a similar faith but have very different political views. I cherish all of my friends, with all of our differences. Our differences add strength and resilience to the web of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment
So what do you think? Have you tried raw vegan food?