Our parents, our culture, our society, our religious beliefs, all tell us during our lifetime that we’re not good enough. And so, our oppression of ourselves begins, and then of others, as our hearts soon begin to close after birth. Without self-love, we lack self-empowerment, and we, who are not good enough, learn that we need others to complete us, to give us their approval so that we can feel good enough, at least for a little while. But as we can only see others through our own eyes, that already wear the blindfold which shuts out universal love and compassion, every other human becomes classified as either one of us, or “less than us”, or the worse of devaluations, “like an animal.”
Pets Verses All Other Animals
And we are only able to see those animals that are classified by us as a “pet,” or a better description, a companion animal, defined by Wikipedia, “as an animal that is kept primarily for a person’s company, protection, or entertainment–rather than as a working animal, livestock, or laboratory animal,” and are worthy of our human love. Though not yet worthy of respect and equality, as they too are disposable if they should become inconvenient. And whether or not an animal is deemed worthy of the classification of “pet” depends on what culture we happen to belong to. “Food animals” are chosen at our whim, and classified as “less than animals,” and not worthy of any humane treatment at all, as they are merely processed factory objects, broken down into body parts.
Food Choices
However, when we dare to stop our consuming of those dead body parts that make up our conditioned food choices, we are finally able to snap ourselves out of this mass trance, and unchained we begin to dance to our own heartbeat. And suddenly, we can open up our hearts to fully see for the first time in our lives, awakening first to ourselves, and then to others. We begin to colour outside the lines of the limitations that were brainwashed into our consciousness from birth. There is no more perception of “less than,” for ourselves or others, no more blindly following orders, passed on mindlessly from one generation to another, no more numbing of our feelings. Will Tuttle, the author of the World Peace Diet, says we reclaim our intelligence, which he defines as the ability to make connections. And we remember who we really are, and celebrate our connections to the earth, to each other, and to all living things.
When we tear off our blindfolds, and remove our masks of conformity, we breath in freedom. “We all wear masks,” writes Gaurav Bhalla,“And it’s fear that drives us to do so. Fear of censure and ridicule, or fear of not getting the approval we seek. But these fears reduce dramatically when we commit ourselves to a worthy cause, as our worth is now elevated by the worthiness of the cause. Our commitment to it shields us from censure and ridicule, and significantly reduces our need for approval.”
Vegan Female Superheroes
Our world needs more vegan female superheroes. Women’s Media Center president Julie Burton says, “There isn’t yet enough of an assumption that women can solidly occupy this position of hero, of being the savior.” Astudy titled SuperPowering Girls conducted by BBC America and the Women’s Media Center found that three-fourths of girls 10-19 said their favorite female superheroes make them feel strong, brave, or inspired. And nearly six in 10 said watching female heroes makes them believe they can do anything–with girls of color more likely to strongly agree with that statement.
In her blog “Redefining Leadership,” Katherine Divine, inspired by the concept of ethical vegan leadership as the solution to world peace, writes,“As hard as it can be to break through the masculine created systems on this planet: girls, women and all others who identify as feminine, please keep going. We need you more than ever to be there at the forefront. To lead. Your feminine energies are needed to heal. To heal a world that has become so unbalanced and has fallen into a void of much confusion and lack of meaningful direction.”
And she concludes, “I see so much talent among girls and women wherever I go.
Be confident in your ability.
Let yourselves be seen and heard.
Ignore anything that crosses your path that says you are not enough.
Use whatever skills and abilities you have and develop them further to be the leader you were born to be.”
