Hello and welcome back to Eight Years In! And if you’re new here, welcome! Today we’re talking about one of the aspects of sustainable veganism: experimentation.
In the beginning
When someone first goes vegan, it can be a lot of new. It all begins with some sort of new information or realization about the world around you or the world within you—either that there’s something going on that you can’t support or the realization that you are the kind of person who values something that you have not been living. And for many, it’s a mixture of both. This is a lot to take in of course, considering it alters the way you look at most things in life. But the new things to process are far from over.
After the initial decision to go vegan, what follows is a period marked by so much novelty that it may be overwhelming. You learn that your shampoo has been tested on animals, your makeup too. You learn that all red colored foods are suspect until proven otherwise, and the list goes on. But you also have this general learning curve of “What does a vegan eat? What do vegans buy? What does a vegan do?”
Essentially, veganism is tons of new. If you’re a person who went through the initial process of going vegan with relative ease, you’re probably someone who is at least good at handling change and novelty—you might even be someone who likes it.
Veganism in the long-term
So what happens when someone who is good at making changes and likes novelty starts to settle into a vegan lifestyle? Well, days become weeks and months become years. You learn how to veganize your favorite meals and you have your vegan-friendly hobbies and pastimes. Basically, you start to get comfortable in your habits.
For the people who have a hard time with change, this is the phase that they are hoping for with veganism. When things can go mostly on autopilot and besides the odd mistake here and there, they can pretty much just set and forget their veganism. But for people who enjoy novelty, they get bored. They start to feel frustrated or constricted. And this is when their challenge begins.
Novelty seekers
A novelty-seeker will start veganism with fervor, relishing the challenge and immediately enjoying the feeling of liberation from their personal guilt of consuming animals and animal products, without feeling too much chagrin for the things they’re leaving behind. After all, going vegan is a new adventure, and a new chance to reinvent themselves. In fact, it’s these people who are more likely to try veganism in the first place, since they are more open to changing up their lifestyle, especially for something that makes as much sense as veganism does.
As time goes by however, they’ll start to notice something. Once you get through the initial learning curve, veganism is not so challenging or exciting or different. You get your weeknight dinners lined up and start buying plant-sourced clothes and products and then…life goes on. This is when a novelty-seeker will start looking around at the nonvegan public and go “wait a second, they seem more uninhibited than me. They do things that I don’t and eat things I don’t. What am I doing?”
Some may even question if veganism is right for them at this point. Depending on how deeply they connected with the philosophy and ethics of veganism, some may give up. While others sit with this feeling of guilt for the boredom and stagnancy they feel, because they know that ethically, they’re doing what is right.
If you’ve been vegan for a while and can relate to this, I have some good news for you. You can find novelty within your vegan lifestyle. It’s all about where you look for it.
Variety as a vegan
I strongly encourage all vegans to start experimenting within their veganism when they get the chance. In the beginning, it can feel like a mad dash for information, so many are just trying to nail down the basics. But after that, after things settle down, it’s time to begin the fun work.
Your old faves
The first bit of experimenting that I suggest is veganizing your old favorite meals. I definitely encourage everyone to support vegan restaurants if they can, as well as vegan options at nonvegans restaurants if it feels right and possible for them. Restaurants can be a great place to show you what’s possible to achieve if your cooking skills leave something to be desired.
However, even more so, I would suggest that you attempt to find ways to veganize your old favorites at home. The reason for this is two-fold. Firstly, you don’t want to be dependent on a restaurant to prepare you your favorite nostalgia meal. I mean, they can’t be open all the time, and who knows, they might change location or go out of business eventually. What would you do then?
However, learning how to cook your old favorite meals (but vegan) starts to give you some real vegan cooking chops. I can’t express strongly enough how worthwhile it is to learn how to cook good vegan food. It helps your mental well-being, as well as your activism. When your friends enjoy your vegan food even if they’re not vegan because it’s so good, you know that you’re opening door for others to realize something that surprisingly few people are aware of: vegan food can be amazing!
New favorites!
Once you’ve learned how to get all your favorite meals when you want them, it’s time to branch out. I did this process a little backwards, and while it worked out, I would really recommend to do it in this order. Life is a lot easier when you have your favorite comfort foods to fall back on. Also, the base of cooking skills you will build this way will help you as you explore with new favorites.
I personally really enjoy trying foods from other cuisines. First of all, being from the US, it seems that most cultures have more naturally vegan options within their cuisine than we seem to in this country. But also, I’ve become quite a foodie in the last few years and I really like to explore. My experience in veganizing food means that I can look at nonvegan recipes that are more authentic and fill in the gaps to my liking instead of counting on some random person on the internet to have knowledge of the cuisine as well as how to make it vegan. I can take on the latter role.
So not only is it exciting to find new vegan meals to eat from other places, with a solid basis of experience in vegan cooking, you can try meals that you otherwise never would have been able to try. So you get to be both the adventurous foodie and the vegan.
A fun way to incorporate this novelty into your culinary repertoire is to name any country in the world that comes to mind, then learn about their cuisine and explore their vegan options. And from there, once you’ve mastered the naturally vegan dishes, you can learn about their nonvegan dishes and set about trying to veganize them. This challenge can and will keep you going for decades, because there’s always more to learn!
Non-food experimentation
As we know well on this site, veganism is not just about what you eat. Vegans also avoid animal use in all practicable applications, which means that some of your pastimes might be on their way out. Aquariums, zoos, hunting trips and horseback riding are now kaput.
Now, if you’re someone who used to engage in a non-vegan activity for enjoyment, you may start to wonder what’s next for you. This is another area where I really encourage people to get creative and try new things. The fact is, there are endless ways to use your time, and this is true for vegans as well. Here are a few ideas if you’re stuck in a bind.
Learn a skill
Perhaps my favorite way of passing time is to learn a skill. There is so much you can learn in this life, and the reasons for learning things are endless. But the more skills you have, the more opportunities you have. Learn a language, learn how to code, learn how to build things or improve on a skill that you already have such as writing or public speaking or something related to your career. As I said, the options are endless.
Help others
Another great thing to do is volunteer your time to help others. You could volunteer with animals (as many vegans may choose since they are passionate about animal rights and well-being), the elderly, a food shelf, community programs, or nonprofit organizations that work with causes you care for.
Lending a helping hand is a great thing for the world around you, as well as your own mental health and self-esteem. You see that you are capable of making a real difference, and sometimes that you can even have a good time doing so. The positive feedback loop is wonderful for all involved, truly, and shows you that this world can be a truly wonderful and caring place.
Create something
Another thing you can do with your time is to submerge yourself in the process of creation. Many people will take this to mean artistic creation, such as painting, drawing, crafting, making music. And these are beautiful ways of expressing yourself and spending your time.
There are however, other forms of creation for those who find art to be daunting or unsatisfying. You can create all sorts of things, from support groups to home furniture. You can create new friendships or petitions. Creation is a process, a mindset, and a belief that not all good things have already been thought up. And when you hone in on that perspective, there is no end to the things that you can create.
Get involved in vegan activism
And branching off of the ideas to volunteer and create, I would be amiss to not mention vegan activism. There are different forms of activism, (so don’t get scared off if you are shy and think it is not for you) and the animals could use your voice!
Whether you decide to dedicate your time to spreading the word about really great vegan food, go be a witness at a slaughterhouse, help out a farm animal sanctuary or vegan nonprofit or go protesting on the street, there are all sorts of options that could fit you and your personality. If you’re interested in activism but concerned about its effectiveness, check out this conversation.
See a new place
And one more thing that I highly recommend is making memories. You don’t have to travel very far to find something that you haven’t seen or tried before, it’s really just a matter of being curious about your surroundings. There are always surprising jewels, even in places where you may believe there isn’t much to do.
So make memories, both by yourself and with loved ones. Travel, to far away places, but also in your own backyard. Be mindful and present, and enjoy your very own surroundings through new adventurous eyes.
Thank you!
I just wanted to say a quick thank you to the readers of this blog as well as this post. Thank you for reading my thoughts, and I hope you find solace and help within them. If you’re vegan or inching toward it, thank you for what you’re doing for the animals and the planet, and if you’re not, thank you for your interest in the subject. Please subscribe to the blog to receive updates when a new post goes live, and share this with someone who might need to hear a vegan message that talks about the internal journey of veganism and not just food and atrocities. And as usual, have a great day!