Black Lives

Why they matter and why being silent is also ok

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Photo Credit: @bobbysud on Instagram

Dear Friend,
 

So I’ve been thinking

Long and hard 

About whether or not

To speak on this

And about the push back

I might get

From various groups

And people

But to honor my path

And my personal agreement

With God

Which is to always act

In alignment with the highest version

Of myself

— even when it’s uncomfortable —

I feel the need to speak on it

Actually

There are two things

I really feel the need

To address

This week

Especially in light of

Everything that’s going on

In the world at the moment

The first:

Whether or not it’s ok

To stay silent right now

And the second: 

Whether the phrase All Lives Matter

Is an acceptable response

To the phrase Black Lives Matter 

As I break down my thoughts 

On each of these 

It may seem like 

I’m on two different sides

Of the issue

And that’s part of why

I was initially hesitant

To speak on it

So all I ask

Is that you hear me out

Before drawing your conclusions 

So the first issue:

Do I feel it’s ok to stay silent right now?

Yes — not only do I feel it’s ok

But in some cases, I would actually prefer

People stay silent

Specifically I’m referring to people

Who are not — for one reason or other —

Speaking out 

About the murder

Of George Floyd

As someone who works 1:1 

With some of the biggest

Influencers, athletes

And thought leaders

In the world

I can tell you for certain 

That silence is not always

A sign of apathy

In fact, I’ve been having

Some of the most difficult

And meaningful conversations 

Of my life this past week

Some people — both black

and white — aren’t ready 

To come out and speak about 

What’s happening yet

Because they’re still processing

Their feelings

Others feel like they need

To stay silent and LISTEN

So they can fully appreciate 

What’s going on

And THEN speak out

And that’s a distinction I feel

It’s important to make 

Everyone’s timeline is different

Personally, I would much rather 

People actually be IN 

Their authentic feelings

Truly listening to others 

With an open mind and heart

I would much rather people LISTEN

While going through an authentic process

Of deep awakening & internal change

Than to jump on social media and speak

Just for the sake of speaking

Or, even worse, to say something 

That isn’t really heartfelt 

We can all see through it

When someone is just giving lip service

To a certain issue 

But doesn’t really FEEL 

The emotional resonance 

Of their own words

I don’t know about you

But to me it’s clear as day

When someone is simply speaking

Out of fear or a sense of obligation 

And quite honestly

It’s painful to listen to 

I think it’s also worth saying

Some people don’t know 

WHAT they feel

And if they do know

They don’t know HOW 

To actually speak on it

Or maybe they’re just not ready to 

Which makes all the people online

Telling people that they have to speak up

That they’re being put “on notice” if they don’t

Similar to the people trying to tell everyone

The “right way” to protest

Fundamentally

It’s all a form of bullying

And it’s a problem

No matter who’s doing it

Ok - now onto the second issue:

Is it ok to say All Lives Matter

When someone says Black Lives Matter

In my opinion

Absolutely not

It’s not only not ok

But it’s hugely dismissive, minimizing

And — I don’t love to use this word — 

Ignorant 

I especially wanna say this 

To my beloved vegan community

Because I know many of you

Personally

And I know most of you

Would never intentionally

Minimize the pain of any group 

But please know that 

When you say all lives matter

You are acting no better 

Than that person in your comments section

Shouting things like “don’t you care about people”

When you try to bring to their attention 

The issue of animal suffering

Cruelty and slaughter 

Point being, pain must be witnessed

And fully acknowledged 

Before it can be healed 

Lastly

It’s important to remember

That when someone says 

Black Lives Matter

They’re not actually 

Taking anything away 

From you

Or from any other cause 

Or movement for that matter

On the contrary

When we respond with 

All Lives Matter 

We ARE attempting 

— however unconsciously — 

to overlook and bypass 

Legitimate pain and suffering

And very legitimate rage

Not to be confused with violence 

Violence is an action

Whereas anger

Is an emotional response

And even though

Anger makes people uncomfortable 

It’s not the same as violence

And when it is actually accepted

Without judgment 

And without 

The need

To water it down

The anger serves 

A very important

And very necessary

Purpose

Just as our anger 

In the vegan community

Mobilizes action

So it is

In any community

Let’s not forget that 

Oppression anywhere

Is oppression everywhere

Joy is our natural state

It’s time for us to remember

To our collective growth, 

Tara x

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EVOLVING TOGETHER

Vegan is the moral baseline, not the final frontier

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Photo Credit: @bobbysud on Instagram

I’m prepared 

To lose a few subscribers

On this one

Although I hope not to

In fact, I hope those of you

Who are the most active

In the vegan community

Might be willing

To give this some thought

And let me know

What you come up with

Believe me when I say

That this is a long ways

From how I used to feel

Just a few years ago

That’s not to say

That how I feel now

Is any better or worse

This is just my current perspective

And I'm sharing it

In hopes

That it will add to yours

First, let me just say 

That the work vegan activists do

Is far from easy

And I don’t just mean

The 'external' work of activism

I mean the internal, emotional work

There is much trauma

In our community

And for very good reason

The suffering that animals

On this planet endure

At the hands of humans

Is truly beyond

The realm of comprehension

And I’d like each

And every one of you

To know

That your pain

Is a sign of your humanity

It’s not something

To try and hide

On the contrary

The ability to feel deeply

Is a beautiful thing

And as vegans

Isn’t that what we want? 

For other people to feel more deeply? 

To feel for those

Who don’t walk or talk

Or look like them?

To finally make the (vegan) connection? 

I know for myself

It’s that disconnect

In the world

That sometimes 

Breaks me down

And yes

At times

Still fills me with rage

But to take that pain

And turn it into a weapon

To use on other people 

Or social media

As a place 

To take and essentially dump

All our pain and trauma

Doesn't necessarily serve
The animals

And I don't believe

It serves us either

Shame does not open people up

To compassion

The energy of anger

— if not properly harnessed — 

Can cause more pain

And disconnection

Than it cures

And — whether it’s intentional

or not — 

Inducing repeat-trauma

In people

Is not our path

To a better world

The way I see it

The most direct path

To a more compassionate world

"out there"

Is for us to embody

The compassion

We want to see in others

"in here"

In all that we do

In all that we share

In all that we speak

Yes, it’s very challenging at times

But isn’t that the work?

Isn't our job

To keep improving

And evolving

As Souls in a human body?

Do I believe that being vegan

Is a part of that evolution?

Yes - I absolutely do

But I think 

It's just as important

For us to remember

That we ALL came here

To do our personal work

Being vegan

Doesn’t exempt us

From this process

If we’re doing it for the animals

Then we need to do what is effective

If we’re doing it for the animals

Then we need to keep in mind

That others are not less than us

And that — karmically speaking —

The corrections are alway made

Whether in this life 

Or the next

However imperfect we may all be

We are still fellow earthlings

And ultimately

We are here

To walk each other 

Back home

To our collective growth,

Tara x

If you have questions please reply by email.

EXPLORE THE BLOG:

EARTH

RELATIONSHIPS

MINDSET

HEART

VOICE

COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS

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