when a belief becomes a personality trait
I chose to stop eating meat last year. I had been feeling it was the right thing to do. I still eat fish occasionally and I try to give my body what it needs. My diet could be defined as macrobiotic with a bit of a Mediterranean mix. The point here is that I feel like sometimes there's a lot of drama about life choices and lots of criticism when it comes to different lifestyles⌠(Iâm using the diet topic to highlight one of the things I consider to be âbasic componentsâ of a lifestyle). Do I believe everyone should eat like me? Hell no.. I don't think highly of myself just because I stopped eating meat or as if I'm being more ethical than others (or better)... I just felt like that had been on my heart for quite a while and only needed the courage to make the change. I like vegan recipes and I find them to be quite creative. I'm not sure I'll ever get into that for now but I may switch to vegetarian. The major issue I observe with veganism is when people make it a personality trait⌠itâs ethical, yes. You can do something "good" for the sake of the animal kingdom and then still ruin your decision by criticizing those who don't, because you create this hierarchy scale in your mind of how things are supposed to be for everyone. You can eat as highly ethical as possible and yet, still be a cruel person to your peers who have chosen to eat a different diet from yours. I believe that completely defeats the purpose, first of all because you're judging others based on how different their choices are from your current ones (since nothing is permanent and change is the constant in life), and secondly because you're not respecting another person's will. The only difference you can make is the one you apply to your own life. Even Jesus said that it's not what people eat that defiles them (Matthew 15:18). Now that I gave this example, letâs get into the real talk (if youâve been with me till now). I've seen this theme happen with all kinds of things in life personally, whether it is diet, religion, music or any kind of belief system the person chooses to adhere to. When you create this strong belief within yourself, it attaches to the ego and it becomes a personality trait. (And when you're in misalignment and very far from your heart center aka being egocentric, there is a potential for those beliefs to trigger conflict within yourself - in which you see everything from a distorted perspective). So, anything that opposes that belief seems to oppose your identity and who you are as well and it makes you feel as if you have to defend that â or as if youâve got to take things personally. It tricks people into creating unnecessary enmity with others (when the so called others have a different opinion) and it incentivizes disconnection from the world you live in⌠When you only see one way, you may also forget that there are infinite paths and possibilities out there and itâs not your place to judge what is best for others, only what is right for yourself.
The real evolution we can go through as humans (at this specific moment in time) is living our lives and learning to respect each otherâs will. Navigating life without feeling the need for others to do things like you do, to influence them or make them feel like youâre right and theyâre wrong. Itâs about experiencing life with full acceptance of all our differences, letting others choose their own, without trying to compare it with a delusive standard.
We don't have to hold all the same beliefs and ideals. True ethical & moral behavior starts with respect⌠Have respect both for yourself and others. Donât give in to distractions and external influence by easily losing your core values, keep walking your path truthfully. Stay open to always learning more and let others be who they choose to be.
God be with you!