Okay, if you got this far I am assuming you care about animals and won’t be eating Turkey tomorrow. But I hope this post also reaches people who maybe are thinking more about the plight of animals and can appreciate the passionate souls out there who are trying to protect them. I am not sharing this post, to convince you to go vegan or vegetarian, but rather to inspire you with a special feature on a ‘Passioneer’ who chose to create a Farm Sanctuary, when she could have done almost anything she wanted. I am speaking of Jon Stewart’s ( the last night talk-show host who is also pretty passionate!) wife Tracey Stewart. Tracey just wrote a beautiful book entitled ‘Do Unto Animals’ A Friendly Guide to How Animals Live, and How We Can Make Their Lives Better. I usually interview authors here at World Wise Beauty, but once her book was released she has overwhelmed with media attention. She was on CBS This Morning with Gayle King and and countless other media outlets you are quite familiar with. Her beautiful book and mission became a high-profile venture and there are thousands of bloggers interested in talking with Tracey. I am on the list! But her Publisher was kind enough to send me a copy of the book to review and this post is one of my few where I don’t interview the author. Would love to when she has more time!
You see, kindness to animals is one of my passions and I share simpatico with Tracey when it comes to practicing my compassionate humane values. Tracey has shared in many interviews that she never wanted to alienate friends and family who weren’t vegans. I always felt that way too. I knew once I became a vegetarian, that I would make people uncomfortable enough by just being one and I wasn’t going to change their choices by lecturing them. I decided to live my values and hopefully through doing so, it would inspire others. That indeed did happen. My ex-husband jumped on board with me slowly but surely, even if he cheated eating Turkey sandwiches at work every now and then! I appreciated his willingness to consider my values and he also seemed to find himself agreeing with most of them in his heart. But the practice of being a vegetarian/vegan takes work and I myself am not a full-fledged vegan today. I do eat some seafood. But I practice conscious living and do not eat meat and especially factory farm animals. I am the one who saves the stink bug crawling and falling from my ceiling! lol
I don’t want to digress, because I am not here to write about vegetarianism, but rather, following our passions and living our values. I will say this, if you are passionate about being kind you will have a hard time not caring about ‘sentient beings’ which are most animals living on this planet with you. Tracey Stewart wrote us a wonderful (and beautifully illustrated!) book to help us understand animals better, and like everything else in life, when we get to know things more intimately, we do become more open and compassionate. Bravo to her for writing this book and sharing her own humble journey to compassionate living and finding her passion. Right after her book was released, Tracey formed a partnership with the Farm Sanctuary who will help her take her advocacy efforts to a larger scale. Read this book, and Follow the Farm Sanctuary on Facebook and get to know a few more animals more personally. Better yet visit a Farm Sanctuary in your area! I promise you will be touched and inspired…
Tracey Stewart is a bona-fide ‘Passioneer’ in every sense of the word, and I think whether you are a vegetarian or not, you will be inspired by her story. What I love about her story is the actual bumpy journey. While she always loved animals, even as a child, she never imagined running a Farm Sanctuary. Tracey got an art degree and worked in every facet of design for many years before she followed her passion. It wasn’t until her husband Jon called her out on her unhappiness with her work, that she began to change the course of her life and followed her passion. He helped her come to the decision to go back to school and she became a Veterinarian Tech. How amazing is that! While Jon was running a successful talk show on TV, Tracey was working everyday for a Veterinarian clinic! Along the way she started her own family with Jon. I don’t want to spoil the story, and reading her own eloquent words is far more impactful. The key takeaway is once she tapped into her passion, she became more centered and joyful and her purpose to love and save animals unfolded.
So on this Thanksgiving I am celebrating a Turkey’s life ALIVE and feel absolutely fantastic about not eating one. After all, it is the side dishes that are so yummy! Thank you to Tracey and all the Passioneers out there who are educating us about the humane treatment of animals and creating sanctuary for them. You make us all want to join the ‘the army of the kind’.
