Vegetarian Spirituality
        by Judy

In My Heart, I know It’s Right

I am not the type of person who generally sets my sight on a goal and then follows through. Self-discipline and willpower are not my strong points. Becoming a vegetarian wasn’t something I learned about and committed to because I’m a disciplined person who wanted to pursue a healthy lifestyle.

Actually, until June 2002, I was happy cooking all the things I thought good mothers are supposed to cook for their families—roast beef and mashed potatoes, ham and sweet potatoes, homemade chicken potpie.
My cooking ideas came from my wonderful grandmothers and mom. For 30 years, I cooked meals just like every other mother I knew. I didn’t know anyone who was a vegetarian. I had never even heard the word “vegan” or “lacto-ovo-vegetarian.” Then in June 2002, my all-American, down-home style of cooking and eating changed.

But let me back up a bit to 1951. In May 1951, I was the first-born child
in a pastor’s family. I was raised on “The Good Book.” Scripture has always been an integral part of my life. As my life progressed, I became a spiritual explorer, interested in learning about religions and spiritual practices. So in June 2002, when I awoke one night, it wasn’t unusual that my mind would turn to thinking about life and spiritual matters. As I lay there, a Bible verse came to my mind —it was the first Bible verse my grandmother had learned as a child. “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.” – Psalm 150:6. I started thinking about “everything that has breath” and how all living creatures are expressions of God’s love. I thought about the innocent, breathing animals who die at the hands of humans every day just so we can delight ourselves in what we feel are wonderful meals. Then a question came to my mind. “If every living, breathing being offers praise to The Divine in its own way, do humans have the right to end that life—to take away its breath? “ I fell back to sleep pondering the question.

My travel down this road has taken a bit longer. Like many people, I was aware of the implications of modern agri-business -I just chose to ignore it. I also convinced myself that I could eat just as healthy and still continue with pretty much the diet that I had lived with for most of my life. But, as I got older I think I became more reflective. Perhaps we all do. And as I reflected on my life and my family I began to realize just how precious yet how fleeting life is. As I read more, listened to audio books more and tried to observe more of the world around me it slowly began to occur to me that all life matters. Not that it didn't matter to me prior to this time...but now it was a conscious thing...not only did I "believe" it, I "felt" it. I was aware...not only in my head but in my core. To be honest - having a dog like Lexy helped that perception - she is the sweetest little thing.

Both of us had grown up with spiritual and religious backgrounds - probably more religious than spiritual simply by virtue of the kinds of families in which we were raised. Over the years Judy has been the seeker of truth in spiritual matters. I was very often content to not stir the pot! But, you cannot live with someone for 36 years and not be touched in some measure by what you observe to be important in that person's life. So, my journey began to evolve as well. I began to believe that there was no "right" way or "wrong" way to approach spirituality. Everyone, I have come to believe, who seeks to enrich his or her spirit or soul is on a positive path.

So, why mention all of this on a vegetarian cooking website? After all, you are probably here more for the vegetarian recipes than for a lecture on spirituality. Well, please don't consider this a lecture. As I said, we all have our stories of thisroad we travel. I would like to think of this as more sharing than anything else. As I mentioned before, it seems to me that a vegetarian lifestyle and a spiritual sense of things are somehow intrinsically interwoven. I'm certainly not taking the moral high ground...but rather, I am trying to do my part to help someone or something else; paying it forward in a sense.