Thursday, May 15, 2014

The Gay Vegans: One Day At A Time

By Dan Hanley
 
Taking things one day at a time is important to me for my own self care.

If you are in any type of 12 step recovery program, you probably know this phrase very well.

The premise is to live in today. To not worry about the past or the future, to just rock today.

Or as I have heard it said in another way: If you have one foot in yesterday and one foot in tomorrow, you are pissing all over today.

Amen.

Life can get tough sometimes. It can get dark. It can get overwhelming. Sometimes one can feel stuck in a rut, and can feel that way for a while.

If you are an activist of any sort, it can be easy to get filled with all of the negative things you are fighting against. The suffering of animals, the destruction of our environment, the persecution of others, etc. We can see so much of this that it affects us. In a negative way.

Each day I try my best to be a powerful voice for the voiceless. I try to build bridges. I try to make the world a better place for all living beings.

Some days I feel like I don't do enough.

Some days I encounter darkness within me. Some call it sadness. Some call it feeling depressed. I call it darkness.

Definitely not a fun place to be.

If I am living in today, just today, taking it one day at a time, I tend to get in that dark place less often. Less fear. Less angst. Just focusing on today and what I can do to help. What I can do to help the animals, the voiceless, my community.

It's funny how my life fills up with light the more I help others.

And one last point I'd like to make is that I do not have be in my darkness alone. My incredibly supportive husband and friends are always there to support me and to love on me. That makes a huge difference, no matter what I am going through.

Thanks for reading this post. 


This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.