I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching lately about how best to spend the time I tend to spread too thin. This morning I meditated on it and in the stillness I felt the pull of this vegan pledge.
I started today by reading through the comments all you vegan pledgers have left over the past year and a half since I started this website. Some of you share at length why you went vegan, others with just a line or two. Some leave links to blogs and websites that tell your story on a daily basis. And many among you choose only to leave your name which is equally inspiring: Living your life vegan is testimony enough.
From this day forward I’ll be sharing your stories as they come in, but I have quite a backlog of them to catch up on too. I’d like to start with that of my friend, Rena Wren:
I’ve been a vegetarian for about 20 years and have been thinking about going Vegan for many years. I just got back from Cali where Vegan living looked so easy! My friend, Meredith [that's me
], who lives in Cali now, was a huge inspiration.
I have always thought being Vegan in a small Arkansas town would be kind of hard. After visiting Cali I realized that is the PRECISE reason to do it! To pave the way and make it easier for future Vegans! I used this concept with live original music in the town where I live now. When I moved here, NOBODY was doing it, so we (hubby and I) created a Songwriter Showcase and people have loved it and we’ve helped so many indie artists be heard! I am hoping to do the same with Vegan living.
xo and Namaste,
It’s been just 9 months since Rena signed the pledge and left this testimonial, but it’s been enough time for her to make a big difference as a “Kind Ambassador.” Not only does she live vegan in her daily life, but she also launched We Are, a positivity project that started with a song she wrote about diversity, oneness, individuality, harmony, equality, love, peace, grace, and life:
When there is a ‘we,’ there is necessarily more than one person (or animal!) present. Now, have you ever felt completely alone in a room full of people, or even in a huge crowd like at a concert or festival? Stop. Think. You are never alone when another is present. So, just your mere presence with another person makes you a ‘we.’ When there is a ‘we,’ there is an opportunity for kindness and connectivity. Every kind connection you make has a vast impact on your world and their world!
Rena will be making all sorts of kind connections at a benefit concert this July 4th at The Gentle Barn, an amazing sanctuary for rescued farm animals in Santa Clarita, California. I’ll be blogging details about the event in hopes you can join us. What better way to celebrate independence day than among rescued farm animals finally free to just be?!
If you haven’t already, please read and sign the vegan pledge and/or pass it on to a friend.
Tags: kindness, Rena Wren, The Gentle Barn, The Vegan Pledge, Vegan, vegan pledge, Veganism
[...] to Erin for sharing her story. If you haven’t already, please read our friend Rena’s inspiring story [...]