Love

I've started listening to several vegan podcasts. One thing that is repeated over and over is to be gentle and loving when sharing your beliefs and answering questions. They touched on exactly how I felt- being so overwhelmed with emotion and passion that I just want to make everyone listen and see what is going on with their food. They stressed the importance of listening, validating, and diffusing. I have to remember that I am now an ambassador for the vegan lifestyle and that's a big responsibility. People are not exposed to vegans frequently, so it's easy for them to judge all vegans and the lifestyle by one interaction with me. It seems like a lot of pressure and responsibility, but I was reminded that I'm not just doing this for me- there are animal lives (and quality of life) on the line. They also gave lots of hints on sharing vegan beliefs in subtle ways in conversation or how to approach a business you would like to make change. These are things I never even considered when becoming vegan and am very grateful to have the guidance of such seasoned ones who have already navigated those minefields. There are many suggestions on how to participate in activism on any level that you have interest. Whether is from your computer at home or on the streets. I really enjoyed the Peta podcasts and would highly recommend them- especially to new vegans.