This story is too heartwarming not to relate...
Today, I was at People's Park in Berkeley for the park's 41st anniversary. I was tabling for the Berkeley Free Clinic, where I volunteer as a peer counselor, so we had all kinds of characters approach our table. One was a 45 year old guy named John, and he graced us with his incredible story. Here it is.
In his younger days, John was a firefighter. Back then, they relied more on person to person communication out in the field, rather than by radio. As they were fighting a fire, John was approaching the edge of a cliff. The person who was supposed to be looking out did not communicate that the cliff was near, and so John fell over the cliff, plunging 90 feet through a thicket of trees, finally landing on some boulders. He instantly shattered both of his knee caps, and according to him, "I broke 99 percent of the bones in my body."
After recovering, John became homeless. He got into meth, both dealing and using. He said his cycle was to sell meth until he could buy enough meth to go up into the Berkeley hills, where he would spend several months consistently high. When the drugs were used up, he would return to deal more, until he could go back to the hills.
One time, after finishing a 60 day stint on meth in the hills, something changed for John. The moment his foot hit the sidewalk on his return, his mind snapped, and he realized he needed to stop what he was doing and sober up. He gave away his remaining drugs, telling everyone he knew, "Never ask me for this ever again." He sobered up on his own, and also got a couple of his friends to sober up. They moved into Section 1A housing (free government housing).
"John," I asked. "So many people in your situation don't make it. Why are you different? Why did you make it?" He pointed to his right, where his 13 year old daughter stood. "Everything was for her," he said. "Without her, I wouldn't have cared about myself enough to change."
This is the first of three points he and I were able to identify in what is responsible for someone making it (or not making it) out of a tough situation. Here are the three:
1. Having a higher purpose, something outside of yourself. For some people recovering, that purpose becomes a higher power, like God. But it can just as well be someone else in your life, or an ideal you believe in. Perhaps because when you're in addiction you're so mired in your own problems, you need to believe in something outside of yourself to escape it.
2. Community Support. John had people around him (like his daughter) who believed in him, who supported him, who kept him honest. He admitted, he could not have maintained his soberness alone. He needed people. We need people.
3. The will and desire John wanted it so bad, wanted so badly to get his daughter back, that it fueled him whenever he was feeling weak. He discovered that indomitable human spirit that exists in all of us. When he tapped into that, already having a higher purpose and community support, he could make it.
John said he sobered up in 2007, and that today, April 2010, was his first day back in the park since then. He now raises his 13 year old daughter and helps people who are addicted get off their addictions by getting them in programs. The man has a certain vibe, an aura around him. It is one you can only have when you have been to hell and back, when you have seen the darkest night imaginable, the darkest depth of the human spirit, and returned to the light. To go away and come back, to struggle and persevere, to lose everything and regain it, seems like one of the most incredible blessings we could receive.
I forgot to mention, due to his 90 foot plunge off the cliff, John is in constant pain. He's got a pretty sunny disposition, too. How does he do it?
I look at John and I think that he's special, but I think we all have that within us. Maybe we don't see it until we encounter something dark and despairing, but it's there, as sure as your beating heart. When we tap into the best part of ourselves, we can always do it.
Here's to you, John, for the joy you bring to the world.
With love,
Ryan
Monday, April 26, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Hold Your Breath--I'm Eating Vegan! (Gasp)
I just deleted the blog post I had been writing for the last hour. Bam. Wiped the slate clean. I rarely do this, but as I was writing it became apparent to me I was lost in my own discussion. And it's because I have so much to say! So I'm going to break it down much more simple, and leave the facts and arguments for a later time.
I am eating vegan!
To clarify, especially for my Uncle Ron, who took me to a vegan restaurant in Berkeley and asked me what a "vegan" (he pronounced it "vagan") is, here goes: to eat vegan is to eat no animal or animal by products, including: beef, chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, dairy, gelatin.
Why in God's good name would I undertake such a crazzzzy undertaking, you ask?
Well, it turns out that for my current beliefs-about the environment, animal treatment, farmworker's rights, industrialization, small business being shut down--eating anything but vegan simply doesn't match up. What I'm saying is, at least for right now, I can't feel good about making food choices besides vegan.
I would like to say at this moment that I am purposely NOT writing to judge, persuade, or convince anyone. I am writing about myself, my thoughts, and my own experience. I think people can do whatever the heck they want. I would hope for them they have the privilege of feeling good about what they do, and I think you can have this eating any kind of diet you want. But for me, at this tender time in my life, I simply cannot eat non-vegan and feel good about it.
My reasons, which are numerous, are so scattered and new and all over the place that I'm not even going to try to go into all of them, or even most of them. I need time for them to settle, so I can talk about it in a clearer, perhaps even more objective way.
For now, I'll try to simplify it. Girl gives talk at my co-op. About factory farming. She brings vegan ice cream and homemade cookies, which incentivize me to attend. She gives 45 minute presentation about factory farming and veganism. I am so taken aback that I (and seven other people in my house) decide to eat vegan for one week. We call it the "vegan challenge." (To clarify, I am simply eating vegan now, with no one week limit to it.)
What, you may ask, would ever convince me to give up the Fish and California Burrito at Sarita's? I'm just going to offer one reason for now, and it is the first one that hit me.
Here is ever reliable Wikipedia's definition of "factory farming": "Factory farming is the practice of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a factory." Basically, a factory farm is one where, generally, animals are crammed into a space that is too small for them, given a modified diet, and subjected to external forces like 24 hour bright lighting to encourage maximum production.
What picture do you see on the package when you're at the grocery store and you're buying bacon, or eggs, or whatever we buy? I often see an idyllic farm with a small red barn, hay, horses, a happy farmer on a tractor. Apparently, I learned, it is simply not the case. A staggering fact: 99% of our animal and animal byproducts in the country are produced at Factory Farms. When I heard that, I was like, "Dayammmmm."
What's wrong with factory farms? Many things, but for now, I will offer the treatment of animals. I recognize that doesn't resonate with everyone, and so I think it is important to elucidate all the different arguments against factory farming. But i want to focus on what initially struck me.
Baby chicks. Baby chicks in a factory farm are typically given the space of an 8x11 piece of paper. They are crammed sometimes 30,000 chicks to a relatively small space. That sounds rough, but this is the part I can't stop thinking about: it is common practice to CUT OFF baby chick's beaks (often without anaesthetic). Why would anyone cut off a baby chick's beak? Well, because of the conditions of the factory farm (lack of space, 24 hour bright lighting to stimulate growth and production, etc.--baby chicks would literally peck each other to death if they had their beaks.
In different settings, be it out in the wild or even in a regular farm (the kind that was the majority until about the 1960's), chickens use their beaks to establish a pecking order, ensuring stability. But in a factory farm, a chicken's beak must be cut off.
Before we get to posing all-or-nothing hypotheticals (well, would you rather us have enough food to eat, or keep your chick's beak on), let's stop. Let's think about our values, what we truly hold dear to our hearts. And then let us, for a moment, consider what it means for us, as a society, to engage in a practice in which we cut off chicken's beaks. A chicken's beak is the first thing that sees this beautiful world. It helps it break out of its shell and breathe our air. And then it uses its beak to feed, as well as to defend itself. It is comparable to our human mouth.
I'm sorry, but I wouldn't want to be part of a society like that.
Well, what about cage free or free-range chickens? I thought the same until I heard this presentation. It turns out cage free or free-range means almost nothing. You could cram 30,000 chickens into a small barn with 8x11 piece of paper space per chicken, and if you have a 3x3 foot area outside, then your chicken is "free-range." But not even free to roam that 3x3 foot area, since the door to it is rarely open and there's not room to move anyways. As the author of a book I'm reading said, "I could keep my chickens under my sink and call them free-range."
And 99% of our chicken meat and eggs are produced this way.
Here is where I run into my dilemma. As I said earlier, I'm really not writing this to try to persuade you, to make you feel bad, to even do anything. I wanted to share my experience and what moved me. And I fear my rhetoric is already moralistic, judgmental. I fear that as soon as I write this I am labeled "a vegan" and cast into a category. Well, all I can do I suppose is state my intention to avoid that.
No, what I want is to continue engaging people in dialog (notice, not "debate") about the food we eat. I want to know, in as caring and non-judgmental a way as possible, why are you choosing to eat that?
Is it because it tastes good to you?
Is it health, because you believe meat and dairy and eggs is the best and perhaps only source of reliable protein?
Is it economics, that you can only afford a certain type and quality of meat and dairy and eggs?
Is it lack of awareness and knowledge of what food you are eating?
Is it apathy, that you just don't care?
Is it that you don't have the time to find out?
These to me all are valid reasons. You can have whatever reason you want, and I just want to engage with it, know about it. I want to know where people are coming from. Say I did become so passionate about eating vegan that I wanted to convince people to change their eating habits-what good would it do for me to condescend and belittle people for their food choices? We judge each other all the time. I think we need to listen to each other. In an honest and caring way.
Where do I go from here? Oh lordy, I have so much to say. I might just keep writing blogs about this. I could write about all the facts related to factory farming I'm finding out (some from a movie called Food Inc. that I highly recommend!). I could write about my experience of eating vegan, from a health/food perspective as well as a social perspective. I could write about my conversations with people. Really, there's a lot to say.
But this is a start. This is my proclamation to the world, at this moment in time, that I'm eating vegan. And I would like to talk about it. I would like us all to talk with one another. Because when we do that from a place of care, compassion, and genuine, non-judgmental curiosity, we learn from each other, and good things happen. Maybe that's the most important thing I've learned at college, and I sure as heck did not learn that in the classroom.
With love,
Ryan
*A woman named Carolyn just emailed me with a link to her blog, which has 100 useful links for people interested in vegetarian/vegan diets. Here's the link: http://surgicaltechnicianschools.org/?page_id=131
I am eating vegan!
To clarify, especially for my Uncle Ron, who took me to a vegan restaurant in Berkeley and asked me what a "vegan" (he pronounced it "vagan") is, here goes: to eat vegan is to eat no animal or animal by products, including: beef, chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, dairy, gelatin.
Why in God's good name would I undertake such a crazzzzy undertaking, you ask?
Well, it turns out that for my current beliefs-about the environment, animal treatment, farmworker's rights, industrialization, small business being shut down--eating anything but vegan simply doesn't match up. What I'm saying is, at least for right now, I can't feel good about making food choices besides vegan.
I would like to say at this moment that I am purposely NOT writing to judge, persuade, or convince anyone. I am writing about myself, my thoughts, and my own experience. I think people can do whatever the heck they want. I would hope for them they have the privilege of feeling good about what they do, and I think you can have this eating any kind of diet you want. But for me, at this tender time in my life, I simply cannot eat non-vegan and feel good about it.
My reasons, which are numerous, are so scattered and new and all over the place that I'm not even going to try to go into all of them, or even most of them. I need time for them to settle, so I can talk about it in a clearer, perhaps even more objective way.
For now, I'll try to simplify it. Girl gives talk at my co-op. About factory farming. She brings vegan ice cream and homemade cookies, which incentivize me to attend. She gives 45 minute presentation about factory farming and veganism. I am so taken aback that I (and seven other people in my house) decide to eat vegan for one week. We call it the "vegan challenge." (To clarify, I am simply eating vegan now, with no one week limit to it.)
What, you may ask, would ever convince me to give up the Fish and California Burrito at Sarita's? I'm just going to offer one reason for now, and it is the first one that hit me.
Here is ever reliable Wikipedia's definition of "factory farming": "Factory farming is the practice of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a factory." Basically, a factory farm is one where, generally, animals are crammed into a space that is too small for them, given a modified diet, and subjected to external forces like 24 hour bright lighting to encourage maximum production.
What picture do you see on the package when you're at the grocery store and you're buying bacon, or eggs, or whatever we buy? I often see an idyllic farm with a small red barn, hay, horses, a happy farmer on a tractor. Apparently, I learned, it is simply not the case. A staggering fact: 99% of our animal and animal byproducts in the country are produced at Factory Farms. When I heard that, I was like, "Dayammmmm."
What's wrong with factory farms? Many things, but for now, I will offer the treatment of animals. I recognize that doesn't resonate with everyone, and so I think it is important to elucidate all the different arguments against factory farming. But i want to focus on what initially struck me.
Baby chicks. Baby chicks in a factory farm are typically given the space of an 8x11 piece of paper. They are crammed sometimes 30,000 chicks to a relatively small space. That sounds rough, but this is the part I can't stop thinking about: it is common practice to CUT OFF baby chick's beaks (often without anaesthetic). Why would anyone cut off a baby chick's beak? Well, because of the conditions of the factory farm (lack of space, 24 hour bright lighting to stimulate growth and production, etc.--baby chicks would literally peck each other to death if they had their beaks.
In different settings, be it out in the wild or even in a regular farm (the kind that was the majority until about the 1960's), chickens use their beaks to establish a pecking order, ensuring stability. But in a factory farm, a chicken's beak must be cut off.
Before we get to posing all-or-nothing hypotheticals (well, would you rather us have enough food to eat, or keep your chick's beak on), let's stop. Let's think about our values, what we truly hold dear to our hearts. And then let us, for a moment, consider what it means for us, as a society, to engage in a practice in which we cut off chicken's beaks. A chicken's beak is the first thing that sees this beautiful world. It helps it break out of its shell and breathe our air. And then it uses its beak to feed, as well as to defend itself. It is comparable to our human mouth.
I'm sorry, but I wouldn't want to be part of a society like that.
Well, what about cage free or free-range chickens? I thought the same until I heard this presentation. It turns out cage free or free-range means almost nothing. You could cram 30,000 chickens into a small barn with 8x11 piece of paper space per chicken, and if you have a 3x3 foot area outside, then your chicken is "free-range." But not even free to roam that 3x3 foot area, since the door to it is rarely open and there's not room to move anyways. As the author of a book I'm reading said, "I could keep my chickens under my sink and call them free-range."
And 99% of our chicken meat and eggs are produced this way.
Here is where I run into my dilemma. As I said earlier, I'm really not writing this to try to persuade you, to make you feel bad, to even do anything. I wanted to share my experience and what moved me. And I fear my rhetoric is already moralistic, judgmental. I fear that as soon as I write this I am labeled "a vegan" and cast into a category. Well, all I can do I suppose is state my intention to avoid that.
No, what I want is to continue engaging people in dialog (notice, not "debate") about the food we eat. I want to know, in as caring and non-judgmental a way as possible, why are you choosing to eat that?
Is it because it tastes good to you?
Is it health, because you believe meat and dairy and eggs is the best and perhaps only source of reliable protein?
Is it economics, that you can only afford a certain type and quality of meat and dairy and eggs?
Is it lack of awareness and knowledge of what food you are eating?
Is it apathy, that you just don't care?
Is it that you don't have the time to find out?
These to me all are valid reasons. You can have whatever reason you want, and I just want to engage with it, know about it. I want to know where people are coming from. Say I did become so passionate about eating vegan that I wanted to convince people to change their eating habits-what good would it do for me to condescend and belittle people for their food choices? We judge each other all the time. I think we need to listen to each other. In an honest and caring way.
Where do I go from here? Oh lordy, I have so much to say. I might just keep writing blogs about this. I could write about all the facts related to factory farming I'm finding out (some from a movie called Food Inc. that I highly recommend!). I could write about my experience of eating vegan, from a health/food perspective as well as a social perspective. I could write about my conversations with people. Really, there's a lot to say.
But this is a start. This is my proclamation to the world, at this moment in time, that I'm eating vegan. And I would like to talk about it. I would like us all to talk with one another. Because when we do that from a place of care, compassion, and genuine, non-judgmental curiosity, we learn from each other, and good things happen. Maybe that's the most important thing I've learned at college, and I sure as heck did not learn that in the classroom.
With love,
Ryan
*A woman named Carolyn just emailed me with a link to her blog, which has 100 useful links for people interested in vegetarian/vegan diets. Here's the link: http://surgicaltechnicianschools.org/?page_id=131
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