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Friday, April 22, 2011

Declarations (of sorts)

Wow!  I so feel like I have been on blogging hiatus and all the things I've left unsaid are suddenly needing to be free'd!  I love the rush of it all moving through me in a free fall of sorts!  There are a couple of things that have been pressing on me and drawing my attention.

1.  To veg or not to veg?  Lately the idea of becoming a vegetarian has been making strong inroads into my heart.  I never imagined that I would even entertain the idea (mmm, the delicious smell of turkey) but I am definitely losing resonance with being a meat eater!  For most of my life I suppose I ate quite unconsciously, not thinking about where my food came from or how it was processed.   This is no longer the case.  There is a large part of me that wants to settle into my house in the Maritimes, grow a garden and have a chicken coop for fresh free-range (non-corn fed) eggs.  I am not declaring anything here, just an acknowledgement that every time I eat animal protein I have a sinking feeling inside.  Knowing that what that animal suffered so I can eat a big juicy steak definitely takes away the juicy-ness!

2.  Writing.  I love to write.  I love to wrap words up together and sling-shot them around the page.  I fantasize about sitting in quiet places marrying thoughts and fonts together.  Drinking gallons of Starbucks lattes.  I love the feeling of characters taking shape in my heart, becoming so real they need to have a home of their own, laid down in foundations of black and white.  Sometimes (most of the time) when I get into the zone, the words just fall on to the page in perfect order.  Days later, I will go back and re-read, as though I am seeing it, feeling it for the first time and think "Damn! I wrote that!  That came through me!".  I've always wanted to be a writer.  As  a kid/teenager I would sit at the river and just write for hours at a time.  I even had a pen name picked out but now I know I will just go with my own name:  Angela Mitchell and own it and be proud of the expressions I put down on paper.  In the coming year, I am going to write and write prolifically!  Stay tuned!

3.  Uncertainty is good!  I'm not a person that needs everything to be the same all the time.  That is, in fact, the exact opposite of who I am.  I love not knowing what is around the corner, I want the unexpectedness of life.  I want it to change on a dime.  I want the joy of adapting and learning and growing.  I want to take more risks, go further than I've ever gone before and trust that it is all going to be okay.  Because it will be.  Is there a worst case scenario?  Is there a place that you can't come back from without at least having learned something valuable along the way?

Many blessings on your day and a little Sheryl for the journey.

PS ~ I've decided to give up sugar for the next two weeks (just getting a bit out of control).  Heaven help us all in this household!

3 comments:

bein good to me said...

Glad to have you back from your little hiatus! :)
My road to vegetarianism (actually, more like pescatarianism) has been a long one but I am so happy that I made the decision to be more conscious of the food I put in my body and what systems I am contributing to in my purchases. My goal was to completely be off of meat by the end of 2011 but I actually beat my goal significantly and have stopped eating meat (except fish) since a few weeks ago. The catalyst? Seeing a 12 minute video called "From Farm to Fridge". I won't link to it here because you can just Google it and I think you need to be ready mentally and emotionally to see it before you sit down and watch it. I know that if I would have watched it this time last year it wouldn't have made as much of an impact on me. But seeing it a few weeks ago was exactly what I needed to see in that moment.
I'd suggest you just start to educate yourself in small ways and not rush into it. The book that taught me a lot was "The Ethics of What We Eat" by Singer/Mason.
Phew! Sorry for the novel. :)
Looking forward to reading more of your writing!
-Lisa

Shelley said...

Great post! You're a fantastic writer and I know you'll make the most of the time you put into it. I would read anything you put out into the universe!

My personal experience with vegetarianism was short-lived. It just sort of came upon me one day, and I was veg for nearly a year... and then suddenly I wanted meat again. I can't really explain why it happened, it wasn't a conscious choice, just something that moved in and then moved out. I do know that I enjoy vegetarian food immensely and if I had to give up meat for whatever reason, I could probably do it.

(please do send me your address, and I will indeed send you a mixtape! you can email me at spazberryjam@yahoo.ca)

Shelley said...

I also wanted to add that I'm reading a book right now called "If the Buddha Came to Dinner" by Hale Sofia Schatz, and although I'm only a couple of chapters in, it seems like something you might like. It was recommended to me by a friend who is vegan and studying to become a Registered Dietitian. Some of it is a bit mystical for me, but what I'm liking about it (so far) is the way the author encourages you to listen to your own needs on a physical, spiritual and mental level, rather than simply preaching a specific nutritional regimen. Just thought I'd mention it :)