When we put ourselves into a box we create pressure to be and act a certain way. If you label yourself as “vegan” for example, then you’re stepping into the collective energy of veganism. With this label and this energy, you’re creating pressure upon yourself to do what everyone else does when they’re in that box. When I was traveling and spending a lot of time with fundamental vegans, I felt a lot of guilt for wearing an old pair of leather boots even though I wasn’t consuming any animal product. Life isn’t so black and white, there is a lot of gray in between. More in the video…
Fran
Fran is the founding author and editor of High on Health, and is the author of Clear Skin For Life, Eat Away Your Acne and How To Clear Acne Scars. You can book Fran in for a private acne treatment consultation via Skype.
489 responses ↓
[..YouTube..] gurl you are on point. I think we have followed so many things that we have forgotten that our body talks to us. when I try things I actually can feel my body telling me certain things feel good. for instance I love brown rice; but when I tried the whole macrobiotics thing, which is centerd around brown rice, I didn’t feel quite right. So I studied the different types of “food” : grains, legumes, fruits, proteins and then find out how your body reacts to things under these categories.
[..YouTube..] I hate boxes. And it is all around us in form of “makeovers”; boxes are about making money. We are educated into learning about “boxes” instead of trusting our own intuition. we have senses and we need to use all of them and our intuition and our sixth sense. Balance is everything.
[..YouTube..] I have just found your videos and your blog and I have to say that I love everything that I’ve heard you talk about. With this video, I have felt like it is exactly what I’ve been wanting to say for ages lol I’m 20 years old and I’ve been vegetarian for around 15 or 16 years. People always ask me why I did it, but I never really knew how to answer that. I went ‘vegetarian’ before I even know what that meant. Meat just wasn’t for me. I love how you explained this, it’s opened up my eyes more.
[..YouTube..] I totally agree with what you said. Its not a good idea to hold ourselves to these labels. I’m a vegan vegetarian. but there are times when I really need the protein that meat can offer. So I “cheat.” But even then I do not like that word. Eating is not a game, no one can judge us, it’s for ourselves. Great vid!
[..YouTube..] properly nice honest message …
for a person to put themselves in a ‘box’ ‘pigeon hole’ ‘genre’ etc is silly imho …pigeon hole is too small for a start ..bout time these ides were dropped from language /use
..put u’rself on a “pedestal” ..everyone is you anyway. be in awe of U
in’lakesh , if u like . s’all the same :)
[..YouTube..] I hate labels, I never said I was a vegetarian when I first started but my entire family called me that, and then one time at a family dinner I tried a shrimp after not eating meat for a year or so. Everyone jumped all over me. Now I eat mostly raw organic vegan food, but I still refuse to call myself that.
[..YouTube..] You got the lighting and exposure so well done on this video that it almost looks like “green screen.” In fact, if this wasn’t green screen — you’ve created the fakest looking real footage I’ve ever seen.
drewnetwork- haha, it’s definitely a real video shot in the park.. good to know I got the lighting just right this tine :)
Hey Fran,
Thanks for this video. At first I was almost angry when I read what you wrote but when I watched the video it made much more sense. I generally go not eat any animal products other than honey. It is what works best for me mentally and physically. But I know I’ve felt incredibly guilty if I’m out an try a little bit of a friends dish that isn’t vegan or the fact that I still own leather shoes and shirts made with wool. Guilt doesn’t help anyone!
hey Fran, have you been following the great health debate done by Kevin Gianni? I’ve been following every night, really great.
Phew Amanda, I’m glad I didn’t leave you angry! Yes for me this journey of the food I eat along with my ethics have been a constant battle of emotion, often negative. I think this is a way of clearing a lot of that up x
Cathy- No I haven’t, I’ll have to tune in thanks :)
[...] post before I had the chance to see Fran from High on Health’s video blog here on “Are You Putting Yourself in a Healthy Box?” which totally relates to what I am trying to communicate here. Also whist you are there, check out [...]
Fran,
This is unrelated to your post but… thank you SO much for sending out the link to The Great Health Debate! I’m listening to Dr. Mercola and Dr. Cousens conversation right now :)
Brilliant Amanda, and two of my favorite teachers!
Love this post. It resonated with me and I had to sit with it a while… I realized that because I had put myself into a bit of a ‘box’, that my skin was paying a hefty price. I had made a commitment to stick with all-natural skincare, body care, cosmetics, dental care etc. etc. I had recently been experiencing a breakout which was getting worse and worse and I was refusing to use a topical antibiotic bp medication I had been prescribed in the past. I was certain I could treat my skin using a natural spot treatment or essential oil blend. As time passed, I noticed that the breakout infection was really spreading below the surface and wreaking havoc. Because I was desperate, I finally decided to use the prescribed cream. Within 3 days, my skin is looking MUCH better. While I still believe it is better to use natural/organic products whenever possible, I have also come to accept that it is okay to make exceptions to our self-imposed ‘rules’ when our intuition guides us in an alternate direction. Balance is always the key!
[..YouTube..] Love your message……The trees and other background colors is the most beautiful green…
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