[Sust-mar] positive affirmations

[Paul Falvo]

Positive affirmations from John Robbins -- I think we can apply this to 
any and every thread of the social justice web.

-------- Original Message --------

-- From "The Food Revolution" by John Robbins.  More info here:
http://www.foodrevolution.org/

So much is at stake in our times.  Whether we like it or not, and
whether we accept it or not, the choices we make, individually and
collectively, in the coming years will make an incredible amount of
difference, perhaps more so than at any other time in the history of
life on this planet.  It is not just the quality of our personal
lives and health that depends, now, on the choices we make.  The
destiny of life on Earth is up for grabs.  And we are each part of
how it will turn out.

... People have taught me that there are two things you need to know
if you want to live a life of great meaning and magnificence.  The
first thing you must not forget is that heroic people don't always
conform to what is popular at a given time.  You must be willing to
be out of step with public opinion.  ...  If you are going to be a
voice for the future, you can't be a creature of the current fads.

The other thing you must never forget, if you want to be a bringer
of the dawn, is that it's no use trying to be perfect.  The people I
have known who have moved the world were all flawed human beings,
like you and me.  But they didn't let that stop them.  They knew
that it is part of our glory as human beings that, even with our
imperfections and wounds, we can still help heal and cherish each
other and our beautiful planet.

In the years to come ...[some] dedicated people ... will be well
known and recognized as influential.  Most, though, will have lived
relatively anonymous lives, making choices and working without
public recognition, serving the greater healing for which we all
pray as well as they could, given the circumstances of their lives.
There is no calculating the debt humanity owes those who labor
without receiving much validations or affirmation for their efforts,
who bring faith even where there seems to be only doubt, and who
bring love even where there seems to be only indifference or hate.

When each of us comes to the end of our lives, what will matter is
not what our social standing was, or whether the world thought we
were important or influential.  What will matter, what in fact
always matters, are the values we uphold and the principles and
possibilities we stand for.  What will matter then, and what matters
now, are the quality of the love we share with the world and the
statements we make with our choices and our lives.

Far too often, our culture today tells us a tremendous lie.  It
tells us that we don't, as individuals, make a difference unless we
happen to be one of the "rich and famous".  But nothing could be
further from the truth.

Your life does matter.  It always matters whether you reach out in
friendship or lash out in anger.  It always matters whether you live
with compassion and awareness or whether you succumb to distractions
and trivia.  It always matters how you treat other people, how you
treat animals, and how you treat yourself.  It always matters what
you do.  It always matters what you say.  And it always matters what
you eat.

When you choose to affirm the dignity inherent in life and to uphold
the beauty, the magic, and the mystery of the living Earth,
something happens.  It happens whether or not anyone else recognizes
your efforts, and it happens regardless of how wounded and flawed
you are.  What happens is you join the long lineage of human beings
who have stood for and helped to bring about a future worthy of all
the tears and prayers our species has known.  Your life becomes a
statement of human possibility.  Your life becomes an instrument
through which a healthier, more compassionate, and more sustainable
future will come to be.

... Every day new heroes are being born.  They are born at every age
and at every stage of life.  They are the people who hear the call
of the future and seek, with their lives, to answer it.  Perhaps you
know someone like this.  Perhaps you are one of them.





For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website 
at http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families 
go to http://www.vrg.org/family.This is a discussion list and is not 
intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be 
obtained from a qualified health professional.