Throughout the entirety of my life, I have been taught that food is supposed to be an essential part of your existence. Being from Louisiana, I've grown up in a culture that takes such an intense pride in its ability to make great tasting food, and rightfully so. I've lived my entire life believing, like most people, that meat is the only thing that can truly nourish and love my body. This, however, has been proven to me to be nothing more than another blindly accepted programming perpetuated by the human need for convenience. While you do not have to become a vegetarian to learn how to truly appreciate your body, it has surely helped me to do so, and I am especially grateful for that.

Five months ago, my diet consisted purely of fast food and sadness. I would eat until I could not physically handle anymore food, and then I would look for dessert! The only thing that added any type of fruit variety to my diet was the occasional banana in an ice cream Sunday. I often tried to convince myself that the reason for the constant feeling of fatigue that I experienced was my lack of sleep, even when I would consecutively get adequate sleep! I was sure that the better tasting the food I ate was, the better I would feel. This was nothing more than a lie that I was letting myself passively accept.

After a series of personal and spiritual revelations that impacted every aspect of my life, I began to analyze what material things I relied on in order to give myself what I thought was happiness. I eventually realized that one of the main things that I was relying on for a brief sense of satisfaction every day was food. "No, you're crazy! You love food, why would that be the thing making you feel unsatisfied?" I tried to find every excuse that would allow me maintain an unhealthy diet while also trying to find spiritual balance. As hard as I tried, though, I could not avoid this truth: Your body cannot be a temple if it is filled with filth, both spiritually and physically! As I began cleansing myself of mental concepts that were preventing my spiritual journey, I also began cleansing my body of similar, harmful concepts. Simply put, I prayed more and ate better! The more conscious I became of my spiritual life, the more conscious I became of my body. I merged my spiritual experience with my dietary practice, and I cannot express how great it has been.

This has not been an easy journey at all, but most great things are not easy to come by! The first few weeks were fine because the novelty of the idea was still strong and interesting. It wasn't until a month after I stopped eating meat that I began to crave it intensely. There have been days that I've questioned the outcome of my decision, and on one occasion I gave into the temptation and ate meat. As much as I wanted to sulk and feel bad for what I viewed as my failure, I did not. I continued in my pursuit and found even more ways to nourish my body, and I continue to do this every day. To anyone going through a similar experience, I would like you to know that if I can stop eating meat after living my entire life with a meat-based diet, you can adopt a healthier way of living, whatever that might mean for you.

I would like to clarify that I do not believe that you have to become a vegetarian in order to become a more spiritual being. This is simply the path that I chose to take because it seemed to be the bold step I needed in order to prove to myself that I was capable of accomplishing anything, and it was. It has only been three months into this journey and I already view it as one of the best decisions of my life. I do not, however, believe that becoming a vegetarian has given me a genuine spiritual connection. I will forever maintain that the bettering of my diet is only a side-effect of the bettering of my spirit.

While becoming a vegetarian has been absolutely beneficial to my life, that does not mean it will be the same in yours. Know your body and know your needs. Realize that your soul is not like anyone else's, and neither is your body. Let your spiritual growth flow into the view you maintain of your own body, and you will surely learn to love yourself in the purest way. Find your balance and treat your body well, for it truly is the temple of your spirit.