Conscious Living Is Not Perfect Living
- kaylastanley9
- Mar 27, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 10, 2021
Conscious living is not perfect living.
Shall I say it louder for the people in the back? Conscious living IS NOT perfect living. It is absolutely impossible to be perfect. Being vegan has definitely made this very evident to me. No one can be a perfect vegan. There are animal products in so many unsuspected things, sometimes I give in because I really want some cake, & it is so harmful to shame yourself for a minor slip up. This goes with just about everything in life. The only person who was ever able to meet all expectations, reach every standard, & resist every temptation was Jesus. So don't beat yourself up for being far from perfect. We all are.
Last semester, I caught myself in a self-made trap. It is really hard to be the perfect vegan, environmentalist, & health guru when you are attending a university in the middle of Ohio. I would constantly tear myself down when I messed up in any of the above categories. I ate mac n cheese. I am filling up my trash bin & throwing away things that should be composted. I am eating so much cereal. I was a mess, dude.
Then one day, I stumbled upon a video done by The Girl Gone Green that totally changed my mindset & how I look at pursuing this kind of lifestyle. She said something along the lines of pursuing conscious living, not perfect living, because there is no way we could ever be perfect. It made me realize that I need to focus on the positive aspects of this lifestyle. It is okay if I slip up here & there because in reality I am doing so much for myself & the planet. That is what is important.
So what do I mean by conscious living? It is paying attention to how much of an impact you have on the world around you & how much impact the world around you has on you. Choosing to live consciously means doing what you can to reduce your negative impact & increase your positive impact. Every thing you do comes from conscious intentions.
What conscious living looks like:
Reduce, reuse, R E C Y C L E (easiest way to make a huge impact)
Watch what you're consuming
Shopping second hand
Minimizing waste
Eating as organic/non-gmo as possible
Compost if you're up for it
Using only cruelty free products
Pay attention to how you treat others & yourself
Live in gratitude
Choosing to be happy & healthy above all else
These are just a few ways that you can take your life back & turn it around for good. It is so rewarding to live your life in light of something so much bigger than yourself. I definitely notice the impact that I have. The people around me have seen the small things I do & realize that they can do it, too. I have had many people ask me why I bother living this way. There's no way one person can change the world. I agree. But I am not alone in this. There are so many people who choose to live consciously. It's a domino affect. I get 5 people around me to make smarter choices, then they tell 5 people, & then those people tell 5 people, & then we see a movement come along. There already is a movement taking over the nation. You don't have to harm the world to live a happy life.
Be happy, be healthy, be a Golden Vessel.
