Rejuvenated Spirit

The power of words plays an important role in everything we do from our most personal, intimate relationships to the billboards that dot urban skylines. As a writer, I am well aware of this fact. So when I came across an interesting phrase choices a few weeks ago,  I was surprised, stunned, curious--and, as it turns out, delighted--when I realized what a profound impact three little words have on my collective being.


The phrase was found in the description of a documentary a friend recommended about the medicinal impact vegetarianism has on the general population. But a key ingredient, if you will, was missing. That harsh, polarizing, frightening word vegetarianism wasn't anywhere in the narrative. Instead, the authors chose to use the simple, yet majestic phrase plant-based diet.


Plant-based diet.


How could three little words mean so much? In the three years I've spent making the conscious effort to exclude meat from meals, I'd never come across the phrase. Yet, from the moment I read it, I was left with a new understanding of myself and the lifestyle I've chosen to embrace.


At its core, vegetarianism is, for me, a near-spiritual experience, an exercise in self control and a testament to my belief system. When pairing the action with harsh letters like V and isms, though, the peaceful act of refusing to destroy animals for consumption becomes radical and militant. Lord knows I've had to defend my diet on multiple occasions, and often to those closest to me, probably because the word vegetarianism conjures up images of ecoterrorists and anti-establishment teens looking to defy authority. Plant-based diet, however, is anything but vicious. Peaceful, calm and soothing, those words open the mind, leading the body and spirit to embrace a lifestyle rich in tranquility. While vegetarianism always has and probably always will remind me of the items I refuse to consume, the words plant, based and lifestyle reveal dietary choices that are practically unlimited.


Turning away death as a way to live brings joys and gratification, though I'm the first to admit it isn't always easy. Those first steps, when one is overly committed and eager, are sometimes the least problematic. It's the long haul that can present challenges. Yet, rebranding vegetarianism as the pursuit of a plant-based diet rejuvenates the spirit and offers the mind a refreshed approach to finding life through food.