Plant based overnight? Yes, some convictions arrive strongly and when you learn that trusting yourself is one of the highest vibrations you can hold, you will start to listen too.
One thing I’m starting to see its true that some of the best things in life are unplanned. Here’s what happened and how we got here:
I decided to take a short staycation to Brooklyn. I booked a housesit and was able to secure an awesome location in the city to explore. Over those 3 days, I walked over 15 miles. I definitely need to find better walking shoes. The barefoot ones I got on Amazon certainly did not cut it. Any recs? I went kayaking, I strolled around Prospect Park, and ate vegan food.
No, I’m not vegan, but on a whim decided that this would be a plant based retreat. I was inspired by a creator I saw online who was hosting a vegan retreat in Belize. It was $3,000 and I just didn’t want to drop that much on the retreat yet so I decided to create my own experience while on this housesit in Brooklyn. I brought with me fruit from home and when I got to Brooklyn, I visited a fruit stand and got some more. The mango I got from there was divine. The papaya too. I ate them happily. I wanted to dine out too so I found some vegan restaurants, although I didn’t enjoy any of them, except the Trinidadian doubles. Doubles are a curried chickpea over roti bread topped with tamarind and pepper sauce. The flavor is divine. I could eat these everyday and that’s why I did. Sometimes all you need is something simple.
Brooklyn did me right. I had fun in the city and eating clean for 3 days wasn’t hard. We can do anything for a few days, right? I felt so proud of myself. I set this small, attainable goal, had a plan and executed on it. Sure maybe I had a .4 second thought about visiting New York and trying out a fancy traditional dining experience, but that thought didn’t last long. That’s something I already had ample experience with. Something new is what would expand my level of experience. Practicing some disciple and having to lean more into experiences outside and with myself was a new (very welcome and right on time) challenge.
It brought me great fulfillment to have accomplished this small quiet goal to myself. But, what i didn’t expect was what happened when I got home. Toward the end of my trip I got a few vegan patties from the Jamaican restaurant (Natural Blend, Brooklyn) before heading back home and figured maybe I’d go just one more day vegan since I was really enjoying and no longer feeling the resistance toward it.
When I got home, it was like my mind already decided that this was my new way of being. I didn’t have the desire to eat meat again. For once in a long time I felt energized by my food instead of tired and lacking motivation. I felt a slight bit clearer, with a yearning for more. My body wanted more hydration and I gave it, it wanted more movement and I gave it. This is in just 4 days! My mind started shifting on its own.
I’m surprised but also not really because this is how it works. All it takes is one small shift, a period of time to rewire and you can start to experience a brand new timeline. Now, I’m 9 days plant based and it has already been showing me so much. Here are the 5 shocking realizations the shift has shown me so far:
1. I’m not hungry. I’m understimulated/lacking structure
That’s the statement. I’m not hungry, I just like to eat. It’s one of the most exciting this I have to look forward to. Before going plant based, a lot of my social life revolved around food – having something good, dinners after work, trying a new restaurant to see how good they make
a steak and how comforting the heavy dishes are, even though they are prepared with little intention, but heavy aesthetics. Food was a big part of socializing. Going plant based removed the default of revolving my socializing and stimulation around food and forced me to lean into other things – things that ultimately gave me more. Outdoor activities, walking, creating and exploring new groups and experiences. Food is not the center. Life IS. This was a huge shift for me.
2. I’ve been making more excuses than effort
There’s no reason that I couldn’t do this. I simply didn’t want to or feel called to. A lot of times we look at something and automatically default to “i cant” because we don’t want or have the desire to. Those two aren’t the same. Just because you have fear around something or an apprehension or there is some unknown aspect you have yet to explore, does not mean you cant. We put so much effort into making excuses and finding reasons why we cant than directing that energy toward actually learning. The output required is generally the same when you full break it down, while the reward for each is vastly different. You have to decide which you want.
3. Plant based eating isn’t difficult/inaccessible/boring, creativity is
When I went to a plant based in Brooklyn for 3 days it was easy. 3 days is short and I’m a creature of habit so I can eat fruit and chickpeas for a few days and be fine. But to continue this lifestyle will obviously take more than fruit and chickpeas, right!? As I got into day 4, 5 and 6 of this new endeavor what I noticed immediately is that while food is not longer the center, it becomes its own experience. Meals require creativity and intention (if you want variety) instead of mindless indulgence.
4. Mindfulness is missing
I realized QUICKLY that I was previously eating, mindlessly. This coupled with my recent skill acquisition from the silent retreat I went on and I put two and two together that I’m also going
to start eating mindfully – which tends to happen by default when making this switch. Now, I’m thinking more intentionally about what I want to eat because it needs to be meat free, flavorful, satiating and nutrient dense (no junk food as a foundation) Now, I cook my food slowly and intentionally. I plan meals I will enjoy. And if I fail to think ahead, I have to eat fruit or get creative with a snack that will satisfy me. I’m making more leaded toasts, flatbreads, salads and more. My fiber, protein and hydration has gone up naturally just by eating. Imagine what 30 days of this could do.
5. You can do anything when you decide
There was a point in time when I was vegetarian. 2 year bid. I was the healthiest and most vibrant I had ever been. Why did I leave it? That’s a story for another day. Let me know in the comments if you want to hear it. BUt in any case, I started eating meat again. And now I’m going back. This is the proof that YOU decide. YOU make the choices that determine the life you experience. Saying “i cant” is a cop out. You can’t eat healthy? You cant create a plan to execute the dream you have? You can do a little research and learn from someone who has done what you want to do? Anything you want… someone has done it.
You can make your way out of and to anything. How? Book an Alignment session with me. Together we work through the emotional blockages and internal discord keeping you from the life you truly desire. If your struggle with big emotions, and want to learn how to better respond to challenges and triggers in your everyday world, check out my Unlock your Highr Mind audio Mentorship session and workbook here.
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I look forward to connecting
Peace,
Kuroi
