When you first become raw, you realize that you are living in a world full of addicts. I'm totally more easy-going about it than when I started, because I was way more vulnerable back then.
Maybe one could slightly compare it to quitting alcohol, except that every single person you know, including all of your family and friends, are still indulging 3+ times a day. And they want you to drink again with them! They ask, why dont you join them? Even dear old grandma is trying to pour a pint of beer down your throat. This sounds insane, but its pretty much the world of a new raw-foodist. You can be a 100% when you are at home and with other people who are like-minded. Then you can usually try and go cooked when you spend time at family events and get-togethers with friends...OR you can choose go 99%-100% and REALLY feel the difference. I could always tell the difference when I went back to 5% cooked. Not as drastic as many people have claimed, but I would sleep a bit longer and be just a little slower throughout my waking hours. I hated this feeling, but I wanted to still be a part of what was going on around me.
Wouldnt it be amazing to go to a family reunion some day in the future and all that was there was exotic fruits, amazing raw food dishes, and glowing, radiant people? Wouldn't it be easier to stay 100%?
My good friend Dhru from We Like It Raw just wrote about Community, and it inspired me to make this post. I was a lone wolf doing raw for almost 3 years. I didnt attend or even know of any pot-lucks, and knew one other person in NY that was about 75% raw. I felt like an alien. My social life was non-existent because whatever we tend to do socially involves food and alcohol. It was too much of a sacrifice for me...so I ended up staying home a lot or going to the gym. I justified that it was good for work, which is was, but I was surely missing the human connections that we really do need in life.
If I would have had a closer raw community when I was in my first year, my transition would have been SO much easier. I would not have felt like I was trading my social life for raw radiance. I would have had both! And now WE CAN have both. I beg you to start up raw food meetups and potlucks...wherever you live. Its tough in NY and some other cities because many people do not have the space in their apartments (or this is an excuse?) but if you are anywhere else, you should be able to have great potlucks at your home at least once a month. Its like having instant friends because when you share the raw food lifestyle, you can empathize with what they are going through and understand a good deal more about them. All you need is the space...and maybe a little background music.
So if you want to instantly improve your social life, become a Living Foods Champion and start hosting pot-lucks. Get some raw dvds and put them on while everyone is enjoying great raw food creations. My apartment could maybe seat about 6 people in our living room, so it would be tough for me, but if I had the space, there's no doubt I'd have one, and likely I would make it a once-a-week occurrence.
Dhru mentioned that any kind of community support is essential. There is no need have to have 20 people over in order to call it a community. Even having one or two other raw-foodists to talk to when times are tough can make all the difference. For this reason, Dhru started the We Like It Raw group on Facebook. I just joined a few days ago, and there is a good presence of people on it. The Universe Provides.
The internet was made for raw food. Can you imagine where this movement and lifestyle would be if it werent for the internet? It would all still be through books and movies, and most of us probably never would have heard enough about it to be interested in it. The truth about some things are so prevalent, that when something comes along that spreads the message easily like the printing press and now the internet, the message EXPLODES. Living food is so obvious, that when people seriously give it a try, they usually become living-breathing advertisements for the living-foods lifestyle. Thats alot of LIVING. Like leads to like. Its impossible not to happen. And when you simply live the radiant life you have helped to create through living foods and higher consciousness, there is no need to even say a word. People will notice. All the better to not say anything, and just let your life do all the talking.
When I finally shut my mouth about raw foods to my family and friends and just started living it, slowly more and more became receptive to it. We dont want to sound like religious born-agains trying to spread THE TRUTH. It doesnt work for those people, and it wont work for us either. Just live...and see what happens. And if people dont want to switch, its their path and they will do what they need to do. I would LOVE for the whole world to be raw (except other Caucasian male models with brown hair...haha) but we have to be patient. This truth is so powerful that it will reach everyone eventually. The tipping point will come.
Join some groups. Life can be so much better and fresher if you do. We want our fruit and greens fresh, but a lot of times we forget that our lives should be too. Groups bring fresh people and ideas into your life. If you are in an area that lacks a raw food "scene"...CREATE ONE. Be the vanguard of living foods in your area. Even if you live in a smaller town, you can put up flyers and show some websites that people can look at for recipes...this is what the internet is for. Its spinning faster and faster, so let's use it to get people turned onto this lifestyle. Once you know "the truth" i.e....we are the only species that has chosen to cook and alter our food...it will be hard to go back. Red pill or Blue pill?
I think I'm going to do a 6 person pot luck at my place. Better 6 than none, right?
Anthony (Andrew?...some nice girl mistakenly called me Andrew in a comment. Funny stuff..)
Maybe one could slightly compare it to quitting alcohol, except that every single person you know, including all of your family and friends, are still indulging 3+ times a day. And they want you to drink again with them! They ask, why dont you join them? Even dear old grandma is trying to pour a pint of beer down your throat. This sounds insane, but its pretty much the world of a new raw-foodist. You can be a 100% when you are at home and with other people who are like-minded. Then you can usually try and go cooked when you spend time at family events and get-togethers with friends...OR you can choose go 99%-100% and REALLY feel the difference. I could always tell the difference when I went back to 5% cooked. Not as drastic as many people have claimed, but I would sleep a bit longer and be just a little slower throughout my waking hours. I hated this feeling, but I wanted to still be a part of what was going on around me.
Wouldnt it be amazing to go to a family reunion some day in the future and all that was there was exotic fruits, amazing raw food dishes, and glowing, radiant people? Wouldn't it be easier to stay 100%?
My good friend Dhru from We Like It Raw just wrote about Community, and it inspired me to make this post. I was a lone wolf doing raw for almost 3 years. I didnt attend or even know of any pot-lucks, and knew one other person in NY that was about 75% raw. I felt like an alien. My social life was non-existent because whatever we tend to do socially involves food and alcohol. It was too much of a sacrifice for me...so I ended up staying home a lot or going to the gym. I justified that it was good for work, which is was, but I was surely missing the human connections that we really do need in life.
If I would have had a closer raw community when I was in my first year, my transition would have been SO much easier. I would not have felt like I was trading my social life for raw radiance. I would have had both! And now WE CAN have both. I beg you to start up raw food meetups and potlucks...wherever you live. Its tough in NY and some other cities because many people do not have the space in their apartments (or this is an excuse?) but if you are anywhere else, you should be able to have great potlucks at your home at least once a month. Its like having instant friends because when you share the raw food lifestyle, you can empathize with what they are going through and understand a good deal more about them. All you need is the space...and maybe a little background music.
So if you want to instantly improve your social life, become a Living Foods Champion and start hosting pot-lucks. Get some raw dvds and put them on while everyone is enjoying great raw food creations. My apartment could maybe seat about 6 people in our living room, so it would be tough for me, but if I had the space, there's no doubt I'd have one, and likely I would make it a once-a-week occurrence.
Dhru mentioned that any kind of community support is essential. There is no need have to have 20 people over in order to call it a community. Even having one or two other raw-foodists to talk to when times are tough can make all the difference. For this reason, Dhru started the We Like It Raw group on Facebook. I just joined a few days ago, and there is a good presence of people on it. The Universe Provides.
The internet was made for raw food. Can you imagine where this movement and lifestyle would be if it werent for the internet? It would all still be through books and movies, and most of us probably never would have heard enough about it to be interested in it. The truth about some things are so prevalent, that when something comes along that spreads the message easily like the printing press and now the internet, the message EXPLODES. Living food is so obvious, that when people seriously give it a try, they usually become living-breathing advertisements for the living-foods lifestyle. Thats alot of LIVING. Like leads to like. Its impossible not to happen. And when you simply live the radiant life you have helped to create through living foods and higher consciousness, there is no need to even say a word. People will notice. All the better to not say anything, and just let your life do all the talking.
When I finally shut my mouth about raw foods to my family and friends and just started living it, slowly more and more became receptive to it. We dont want to sound like religious born-agains trying to spread THE TRUTH. It doesnt work for those people, and it wont work for us either. Just live...and see what happens. And if people dont want to switch, its their path and they will do what they need to do. I would LOVE for the whole world to be raw (except other Caucasian male models with brown hair...haha) but we have to be patient. This truth is so powerful that it will reach everyone eventually. The tipping point will come.
Join some groups. Life can be so much better and fresher if you do. We want our fruit and greens fresh, but a lot of times we forget that our lives should be too. Groups bring fresh people and ideas into your life. If you are in an area that lacks a raw food "scene"...CREATE ONE. Be the vanguard of living foods in your area. Even if you live in a smaller town, you can put up flyers and show some websites that people can look at for recipes...this is what the internet is for. Its spinning faster and faster, so let's use it to get people turned onto this lifestyle. Once you know "the truth" i.e....we are the only species that has chosen to cook and alter our food...it will be hard to go back. Red pill or Blue pill?
I think I'm going to do a 6 person pot luck at my place. Better 6 than none, right?
Anthony (Andrew?...some nice girl mistakenly called me Andrew in a comment. Funny stuff..)
3 comments:
Arthur Schopenhauer said:
"Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident."
That seems to describe the raw-foods movement perfectly. And I'll admit that I probably went through all three stages myself!
I just wanted to say thanks for writing your blog. I really enjoy reading it. Your posts are so positive, and I can't help but feel uplifted after reading them. Keep up the great work!
Thanks, Anthony. I'll have to look up raw food groups in Tokyo. There was a Japanese raw food website but for some reason it's not around anymore. Hmm. Well, it'll also be good Japanese practice for me!
I love this post.
I'm living in a town of 35,000 in Oklahoma and there are only 2 of us embracing living foods ...my great friend who is a former model and astute businesswoman, and quirky me.
Post a Comment