Your Open Mind

Last night, I met three friends and one brand new one for dinner at Good Earth in Studio City. One of them, I travel the globe with. One of them I work with and wish I could travel the globe with. One is very good friends with the previous two and I am getting to know her- we went to the Monsanto Rally together in May. And one is a brand new friend, who will, I am sure, be one of my dear old friends in a few years.

When you get a group of women together, you never know what you are going to get. Often those with a personal history will touch on topics and the others will listen in, too unfamiliar to press for clarifying details, waiting for the conversation to turn into one they can participate in. Usually it revolves around men, botox and filler, or gossip.  This night, however, we had a group of socially and politically conscious women all in one place, and I wish wish WISH we recorded it.

Two of the friends are vegan. I love that they are, I think thats amazing. One of them is very insistent that I watch a documentary called Earthlings. Very insistent. She says she knows if I watch that I will never eat meat again. I am not ready for this- its already a challenge to re-train my taste buds that I eat much less than I used to, because that alone is a process. I don't really eat red meat, but in certain situations, I would. I eat chicken and fish. I rarely eat pork but I might have a little bacon with my fresh from the farm eggs. I just know that right this minute, I am not ready to go to that extreme. But it does seem like a natural progression. She and the other vegan choose that lifestyle out of moral imperatives towards animals. I choose to take on this shift in my life for political reasons, mostly. I love animals, but right now in my life, I am okay with eating them. Thats just me and where I am right now. I prefer to eat free range meat that has been raised gently, and not in meat factories. That works for me, right now.

There was another woman there who is a nutritionist. She could cite reasons for so much of the obesity, diabetes, and heart disease in the US, attributed mostly to the diet of most Americans. Americans eat shit. Seriously. Americans eat fast food constantly. Or they eat specifically with concern to weight, without changing their diets they opt for 'fat free',  or diet products, like diet coke. Lean cuisines and a diet coke is the staple lunch for office workers across the country.  Our food is often 85% GMOs. This woman, who I was quickly growing to love, then brought up the issue coming about in North carolina- this new platform to make the public display of a woman's nipples a felony, to which we all thought we would post pictures of our nipples in a show of resistance.  She also brought up fracking, passionately talking about what a danger it is to the future of all mankind and the planet, and the inevitability of this planet becoming completely incapable of supporting life if this practice continues. She isn't wrong. This planet and its ecosystem can only take so much. These could be the last few centuries of human life on earth if we don't all start to understand and do our part.

I watched these women get very upset by the complacency of other Americans. My vegan friends were angry at people who eat meat, and the nutritionist said she got so upset when people said, "GMOs are proven not to be bad for you," or, "there is plenty of water in the world, fracking will not affect our water supply." The ignorance of others makes them crazy. We had a long talk about that.  They come from families who always viewed people who did not think as they did as idiots. That quickly became the running joke at the table- anyone expressing a view that differed from anyone else the whole table would quip- "you're an idiot!" Its interesting to note that this stance is usually off putting to the very people who would benefit from their message, but I understand their passion and enthusiasm for what they believe in wholeheartedly.

I let my very good and dear vegan friend know that, if I didn't know her and she came preaching at me, I would think, "You're a real bitch, lady." She isn't, she is the furthest things from it, but if I didn't know her I would think it, because I am not where she is, my values are in a different place- that doesn't make me bad, or wrong, or an idiot. It just means I am where I am. There is an opportunity to enlighten me, to raise my consciousness about the issues that matter to her, but making me wrong won't do it. It feels judgmental, and no one likes that. We talked about that, how my vegan friend is not environmentally concerned, where I am all about recycling and re-using and being mindful. I was surprised to hear that, but thats all. The nutritionist says she eats some meat, just not red meat, and the two vegans sort of jumped on her about how she could know what she knows and still eat meat. She said it is simply what she is at peace with in her life, her reasons for making the choices might not be informed by the same passions they are driven by- sure, we all love animals. The nutritionist eats the way she does because she is concerned about her health. The vegans, out of a moral obligation they feel towards animals. My quiet friend that I work with eats the ways she does, which is very healthy, partly because she is a marathon runner and she gives her body what she knows it needs. Her stance is largely a pragmatic approach to being the best running machine possible. Also, she was raised by hippies in a vegetarian household and was never acclimated to processed or fast foods, so in that way, she doesn't need to make a stand in giving up foods that don't support her passion- those things were simply never present. Its just a way of life for her.

It was such a cool night, so many things were talked about, and I realized I was sitting with some really beautiful creatures. Like, not just in appearance- which, I might add, they all are stunning creatures- but they just all vibrate differently. They glow. They are filled with purpose and meaning, concern for animals, the planet, their bodies, women's issues, each other. Their lives are a testament to what they believe in, and all of them believe in greater good.  Including me- I should be saying 'We' here. We want to change the world, in our own corners of it where we live. It would be great if it rippled outward. Thats the goal.

 I want this journey of understanding my own place in the solution to be relatable, so that it might inspire others to do even just one thing differently. And then maybe another, and then to begin to enjoy it, to love the shift, to revel in it, to take on newer and better ways to live in harmony with all things, and to be so enthusiastic that others can't help but notice.

Here I am, working on my blog. I wish I had gotten pictures of all my friends last night- one thing is for sure, if I put real photos on a blog, I get twice as many hits. This is going to be yet another challenge, as I don't like to be photographed. But I will do what it takes to get your attention and connect. I care about you and your world! If you are reading this, you are exactly where you should be. Keep your mind open.

OCCUPY YOURSELF!