*Five*

Exactly 5 years back, I made the decision to go vegan! I had given it several attempts before that but failed for my love of yoghurt and paneer and cheese was too much to overcome. But all of a sudden, 5 years back, it came to me, that it was time.

I do believe that this awakening comes to all ... whatever their goal is .. whatever motivates them. Sometimes no matter how much you attempt and try, you just aren't able to acheive. Doesn't mean you should stop trying and wait for the awakening .. for I believe it's the repeated attempts that brings the awakening.

5 years and a lot of debates later, I can say, I am really proud to be a vegan .. to have chosen this path. No, please don't think of me as being boastful or arrogant. I in no way feel superior to anyone out there. I just feel accomplished. I am sure others find several other outlets to do their good deeds. This was mine. I love animals, I have watched way too many factory farming videos, I have read way too much about dairy farming, I can't bear to support it, and thus became vegan. It's not easy, I've had my weak moments, but it's worth it and that's what keeps me going. And in the process i have realized that everyone needs this 'thing'. Everyone needs that one 'driving force', the one thing they are passionate about .. the one thing that they would do anything for. It helps you grow, it keeps you learning, and it teaches you to become a better person.

What's your thing?

Waste

We recently bought a new place and I have been trying to measure how green my thumb is! :) I planted a few tomato plants, bell peppers, chilli peppers and lots of other flowering ones and herbs. I am loving it. It's become a morning routine for me .. wake up and go check on my plants. It's only been 2 months now .. so the excitement is still very new. That being said, a plant grows and changes everyday ... so I am hoping the excitement stays. Anyway, back to the point I was trying to make. About 2 months back .. somewhere late March, I had planted these cherry tomato plants. They flowered pretty soon after that and I could see some beautiful little green cherry tomatoes growing soon after. I was soo excited. I could have my own home grown cherry tomatoes very soon. They were green at first of course .. so I waited a week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, the cherry tomatoes were still green!! A little bigger but completely green. After nearly 5 weeks .. somewhere in mid-May - I noticed one change color. Soon after in the 6th week, I had a bowl full of cherry tomatoes. They were red, plump, and extremely juicy and sweet. I swear I could pop them all into my mouth. Yum yum! But seriously ... SIX WEEKS?? It definitely got me thinking of the amount of food we waste. I always knew this .. but it wasn't this impacting. Growing my own has definitely been a growing experience for me too. I realize now that the plant works SO hard to produce that one fruit or vegetable. It works so hard to fill it with nutrition and flavor that we need and like. And it takes us 2 seconds to dump our food into the trash! SO sad. I am as big a culprit here as you are. I don't have as much regard to food as I would like to. I often let veggies rot in my fridge, often serve myself way too much on my plate and then end up leaving it, often .. way too often. But after this 'growing' experience, I think and hope I have become more mindful of 'waste'. Let's buy, take and use only that which we need and nothing in excess. There are many hungry mouths in this world and many hardworking plants. We owe it to both of them to not waste.