I’ve always had a few little green streaks running through me but not enough to overcome laziness. 90% of the time I buy organic, free range, everything that needs to be organic, or free range but again there was a twist to that – I don’t want to eat chemicals, and don’t agree with penning up animals. Coming to the UK has been interesting in that respect. I have watched a lot of documentaries (in NZ) about the awful farming methods of how various chains produce “cheap” meat in the UK. Consequently from the day I got here I have not eaten anything that does not have “free range/organic” on it. A number of chains have distinguished themselves having products that are locally made, fairtrade, free range and organic food stuffs which is splendid, nonetheless I rarely eat meat now because getting both free range + organic is quite difficult. The gradual decline in fear of eating a penned up chicken has gone to another level recently with more involvement in Buddhism. One Buddhist ethic, or precept is “to refrain from causing harm to other living beings.”
Even the Dalai Lama chews on meat so it isn’t exactly a must do as a Buddhist to be a vegetarian, but with growing concerns in this world of how we produce things, and how little knowledge we, the end consumer have on how we get that cheap thing I do not want to add to animals suffering, or create demand for products made by some poor bugger who lives in a cardboard box and works 100-hours a week. A poet (a vegan poet no less!) did a great performance at the Sangha Festival. He did a coming out poem, like a coming out story, but as a vegan. He made a very good point – that eating meat is conditioning. We can live without it. That compassion for animals is a choice.
… but still …. I like bacon. And that is where I struggle. In talking to my work mate about this, he told me a great story.
“I always thought my wife didn’t like coffee. She never drank it, until one day I walked into her house and I could smell a really nice coffee brewing. I said to her, I thought you didn’t like coffee! As I love it. She replied oh no, I love coffee. I just wanted to see how long I could go without it.”
It had been 2.5 years. Now that is self-mastery.
Likes and dislikes can become a habit, just like eating, or riding, or driving or taking the bus. I disliked mushrooms for many years, now I love them. I caught the bus to work for 6-weeks thoroughly engrained in my bus ride, enjoying my podcasts each day while my bicycle wondered when I would use it to get to work.
And then we moved offices.
With an office move a mere 3-miles north we crossed bus territory. That meant bus fares almost doubled and since then I have ridden everyday. I am shamed to admit that money got me cycle commuting to work, not the environment. Nonetheless now I love my ride in. It’s flat, a consistent head wind to work, and a zippy tail wind home as if the wind is as keen as I am to get me home. It’s funny the things that shake us out of our habits, but overall I know that while I have had good intentions the reality is that other influences have shaken me out of laziness, out of conditioning, out of my habits. But still I ponder, and wonder if I can do without butter chicken?
