“Never! Not in this lifetime!” My thots on being a vegetarian as a teenage me watched a docile couple nibble on a salad whilst a roomful of guests gorged on succulent meat.
The scene has taken a 360 degree turn as I now contemplate going vegetarian full-time. To date, I’ve only done, like a 180 degree turn. So no dizzy spells. Does anyone quit meat cold turkey? One of my sisters did.
I remember the day all too clearly as she voiced her intention during a meal. Followed by a nasty scolding cos my mother and I didn’t jump on the rather bland sounding green bandwagon.
My journey towards giving up eating dead animals started out for very specific reasons.
The first tentative toe tested the waters 20 years ago when I started the Saturday-evening-at-the-temple routine. These visits meant I had to go vegetarian. Why, you ask?
Was it for the clean aura, to be able to meditate better or an age old custom? Heck no! It’s cos God gave me a taste of what would happen if I ate meat on those days. Here’s what transpired.
Tis was a sunny morning after a short visit to the powerful Shivan temple atop Gasing Hill that my meat obsessed family descended on Lotus for breakfast.
As the waiter left the devil, I mean the fish curry on our table, my devious mind went into overdrive, rationalizing that since I had already paid God a visit, it would be okay to flood my roti chanai with the irresistible rich floating tempting mix of brown spices. Right?
It was not as if I was about to eat the actual fish. Horrors! Of course not! With that, any lingering guilt was washed away as I slurped down on the yummy fish curry.
A couple of hours later that tinge of guilt turned into agoanizing regret as waves of the most vicious acid on earth rolled about my sensitive tummy linings. As I gasped in unbelievable pain, I thot that death would have been more preferable. No, I am not being dramatic!
I had had terrible gastric pain before, and believe you me, this was a trillion times worse. God has this way of teaching me unforgettable lessons that leaves its mark indented upon my stubborn brains.
Not that it stopped me from chewing on meaty dishes the very next day. Why would God punish me then as I hadn’t made a pact to go vegetarian on Sundays nor was I planning a visit to the temple.
Fast forward ten years later when I started to add on Tuesdays to my no meat list days. Then Thursday. Soon along came Friday to sit happily at the bottom of the list. All for one religious reason or another.
Whether I went to the temple or not I would forsake meat. Unless I travelled, which made things a bit challenging. Or so I thot. Certain photography outings with staunch vegetarians left me feeling truly shameful of my lackadaisical attitude. For these people proved that you can always manage no matter where you are with whatever food available.
Just a month ago, I felt I should give up chicken. I’ll save the why story for another day. It’s a done deal. All chickens need not worry for their lives around me. Now, their eggs, that’s a different matter … isn’t it?
A friend went “Jeez! What’s wrong with chicken?” when I told her about it. I had known from the start that meals with the staunch old meatarians were going to be interesting.
I expect them to dish out support, surprise, awe (even I’m still getting used to the non-chicken eating me) and I’m sure, a little irritation as I won’t be patronizing certain restaurants anymore.
Tomorrow, I am going to let some old pals know I will soon be a full-time vegetarian. The reactions should be interesting.
I have made this crucial decision yet I feel like I’m standing at the edge of a high cliff. If only there was an environment-friendly escalator that could speed forward past all niggling obstacles. The Bhagavad Gita says that all good things have a bitter start. That gives me faith.
Want to join my vegetarian journey with me?
No comments:
Post a Comment