I was recently visiting a state where being vegan is more challenging. I’ve become okay with the limited options, but it doesn’t seem to be a big deal to have ONE item on the menu I can eat! If you’re going to make something vegetarian, why not just make it vegan so both communities can be served? It drives me nuts when I go to a deli counter and see a beautiful broccoli salad that is covered with bacon bits!! Why not have them on the side for those who want them? There are so many food allergies and preferences, why so much heat around being vegan?
We were staying in a super cute area with several restaurants that lined the streets. I walked into one to ask if they had any vegan options, since there were no menus on display.
It was a beautiful space that had outdoor, semi-outdoor, and inside dining, with a bar that looked like a work of art. It felt high-end yet casual and would have been a lovely place to eat. The hostess said she had to ask the chef (red-flag) to see if there was a way to deconstruct items on their menu to make them vegan (another red flag). Often, when you must remove items to force a dish to be something it’s not, it loses its luster. I’ve been places where there are no items on the menu, but the chef, knowing there are vegan diners out there, will prepare something special, and often it tastes delicious (and when it doesn’t, I’m just grateful to be fed).
When the hostess returned, she held the menu up to me and started going down the “starters” portion, saying, “we can make the carrots vegan, we can make the Brussels sprouts vegan.” I had to stop her there. Carrots & Brussels sprouts ARE vegan by their nature. I understood what she meant, that they would have to change the dressing from dairy to non-dairy and whatever else they layered onto the carrots and Brussels sprouts to make them non-vegan. Why not just have another sauce ready to go that makes those veggies sing?
While the joke of carrots & Brussels sprouts naturally being vegan made me laugh, it also got me thinking. What is MY natural state? The state of self-hood that was (and arguably still is) my nature before I became an amalgamation of the projections, judgements, and expectations of parents, friends, family, and culture? Am I still a carrot or have I been soaking in dairy so long I’ve forgotten my power source is beta-carotene and not lactose?
This is an example of how reflection works. I saw myself immediately in that carrot! It was a very small leap from “we can make the carrots vegan” to “who am I under all this added flavor.”
The work of self-study (Svadhyaya in Yoga philosophy) does not require books or lectures, it is a daily opportunity given to us by the gift of being alive. When we clear the foggy lens that can only see what we’ve become and begin to see through the clear mirror of reflection, we get a glimpse of our eternal self.
This is not to say that what has been added to our essential self is bad (or good, or any value judgement in between). In fact, who we become as a result of these add-ons, may take us to where we were meant to be all along. And regular self-check-ins allow us to measure growth, change, and whether we are in fact in alignment with our vital self.
Dipped in mustard, ranch, or something meatier, the carrot remains a carrot. In different times of my life I have opted for a variety of flavors and cooking styles to alter the taste and texture of carrots (and other veggies), reflected by different versions of myself, but at the core, a carrot by any other name would taste like chicken.
I love this: “Am I still a carrot or have I been soaking in dairy so long I’ve forgotten my power source is beta-carotene and not lactose?”
Getting to our essential nature takes practice! Thank you!
Also, love the Thanksgiving dinner cartoon. So relatable!!