Kristine wrote:
>Jeff feels all alone I think.  He loves the rest of humanity,
>but he's so repressed he doesn't know how to show it.  He misses the
>community of the world and hates the isolation.  He also hates the
>tragedy of the world today.  He'd rather kill the world, then handle the
>pain.  Jeff is in pain.  He probably knows that he's alienated everyone
>and he finds solace in the trees of Asia and fruit and his imagination.
>But his body cries out for love, for friendship, for his human family.
>And by this time his body is probably in trouble.  He probably knows
>that he's going to have to bite the bullet and eat meat sooner or later,
>otherwise he's going to have to spend his whole life isolated, while
>slowly developing problems.  I think Jeff just wants to be your friend.

Jo sez:
I had some of the same observations about myself for the last decade
although attending the RAF potluck to gorge on meat didn't cross my mind (I
would've brought the durians methinks; well, maybe mangoes). Whatever my
history, this support group provides a valuable resource: group experience,
intellectual honesty and humour to boot.

Several months ago Kirt (Nieft) made a comment to me about redirecting his
mindset away from categorizing others on what they ate; and shifting his
focus towards getting a gut feel for the other person, the whole person,
that is. This seemed so sensible and easily acceptable. Until I realized
that I've allowed a trying 20-month experience to drag on because I did
just that: based a relationship on what the other person ate (a natural
hygienist). Of course other major lifestyle choices were shared but my
leveraged fear of not finding a suitable partner (we both had it bad) led
us through a lot of pain rather than a clean break.

I also remember being frustrated about my family and friends eating this
and that and trying to save the crazy world from all the bass ackward
policies and conspiracies.

But now I kinda understand what the people in my life endured as well; they
witnessed my health journey with compassionate concern about my weight
loss, isolation, and moody periods.

I've since relaxed and have a far easier time of it. The labels have gone
or going fast. I don't beat myself if I eat this or don't eat that. I'll
continue to enjoy vibrant health and regain a robust level of fitness by
keeping my options open. And by not taking myself so bleeding seriously, ya
know? Because, crony-coronies, there's a whole wack of wonderful people out
there who eat meat, who love raw fruit, who don't eat, ad nauseum, and I'd
like to ensure that I don't miss opportunities to interact with them just
because I'm a transplanted Jovian or a Macintosh fanatic.

So Kristine, I don't care about what you don't eat. I like the way you
speak your mind. That's a dang good start.