I would just like to say that it has been over two weeks now that I have not consumed any animal products. How people can do this for their entire lives is a mystery to me. I have also been consistently running, making myself into what most sedentary people would call "a runner" and most runners would call "Oh, that's cute."
If you told most people in my family (or even told me , as a matter of fact), that I would one day be (even temporarily) a vegan runner, they would have asked you what you were smoking. Seriously.
This got me thinking, what gives?
Well, besides the fact that it is Make it Happen March of the Year of Dreams, the key to making things happen is in the shape of community.
I have found this to be especially true this month. Each night at around 11:45 my roommate and I give ourselves a loud round of applause for making it through another day of vegan-hood. This is usually followed by a way-too-serious discussion of how hard or easy our day was, detailed descriptions of the dishes we will eat once this is over, arguments over who is the most vegan, and/or victories of will at restaurants or parties. To be perfectly honest, it helps. A lot. I was recently at my cousin's 18 birthday party when one of her friends asked me why I wouldn't eat the gourmet cheese they were serving after I had gone on for the last 20 minutes about how much I love cheese. I responded, "because then I couldn't do the round of applause!"
As trivial as this vegan experiment is, it seems to point to a truth that is consistent in the Life experiment as well. Life is a struggle. In whatever you are trying to make happen, there are a million varieties of things that can cause you to stumble. Resisting them and persevering anyway is made easier when there are people to celebrate victories and sympathize in the struggle with.
We are genetically programmed to need people. As far as I know, nobody has come out of the womb and said "It's cool, I'll take it from here". In an unbroken world, that reliance on people is a positive thing that produces joy, growth, and success and security. Perhaps it is meant to be a physical picture of what reliance on God looks like. However, the world is broken and, unfortunately, many of us are taught by bitter experiences with reliance to "take care of numero uno" because "you can't rely on anybody but yourself". I know from experience that it is very difficult to make anything significant, worthwhile, or meaningful happen in that frame of mind.
I also know from experience that breaking from that self-reliant chain, although it takes persistence and an exercise in trust, is one of the most fruitful, rich and worthwhile things you can do. Community is a beautiful thing and, when operating under God and in love, amazing things can happen.
At my college graduation, I focused my speech on community:
For many people I know this word [community] is a bland, tepid one. It means the place in which they live or the people who they live near. It is characterized by city-lines rather than relationships. For me, in my life and in my college career, this could not be further from the truth.
It is community that pushed me through.
It is community that encouraged me, supported me, prayed for me and helped me hear the heart of God when my ears were plugged with my worldly woes.
It is community who made me laugh, made me dinner, and made me a part of the family.
It is community who challenged me to a higher calling, which sometimes just meant helping with the dishes.
It community who held me when I needed holding and kicked my butt when it desperately needed kicking.
It is community who shared in my difficulties, my defeats and also my victories.
People are key. Community is key. Whether it's something as grand as getting through a tragedy or as trivial as not consuming animal products for 46 days.
Not only for support, but for gaining wisdom and insight as well. We are all a collection of experiences. Our own experiential lens on life can be pretty limited and cause us to miss out on adventure until we connect with and walk with other people.
By making things happen in in life by connecting in community, you can also be giving as much as you are getting. Whether you are sharing in a struggle, being a friend, or allowing someone to be a friend to you. Because living in community is how the system is supposed to work, fruit can't help but grow from it. By isolating yourself and trying to make things happen on your own, not only are you robbing yourself of blessings, but you are robbing other people of what you have to offer.
"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"
People help people make things happen. It's a beautiful and sometimes messy cycle. But worth it.
The most brilliant modern philosopher of our time summed it up best in his acceptance speech for his Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1997 Emmys:
And God be with you, neighbor, as you make it happen in March.
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