Written By: Chameleon Cooper

Boneless bloodless preferences of meat, euphoric enjoyment of anything fruity, and compassionate connections to animals: I guess one can say these signs pretty much prophesied my path to becoming vegan. However, I never thought I’d ever become a vegan. Whenever I heard the term “vegan”, I immediately envisioned angry radical animal lovers throwing fake blood on anyone wearing their buddies as clothing, screaming, “GO VEGAN OR ELSE!”

It wasn’t until the ripe age of 16 that I saw a video of baby chicks slaughtered. I was disgusted & attempted to go vegan then. It was short-lived since fear-mongering was the motivator, and shame was its offspring. 

Around 2017, I had this huge epiphany and went soul-searching. I didn’t realize how much of my life choices were previously driven by anxious fear. I finally understood why the caged bird sings, and why creativity was the one thing that kept me sane. I started to explore life from a reality of freedom. In 2018, I officially became vegan; this time with love as the motivator instead of fear. What seemed like chronic physical illnesses throughout my life became nonexistent all of a sudden. I was finally free from the bondage of aches & pains. Over-the-counter medicines no longer dominated my existence. A door to creative ways of cooking was opened with a whole new world of foods I never tried nor heard of.

Although freedom was my language, I didn’t yet grasp how to use that freedom wisely. I was a wild animal on the loose, pouncing from one extreme to the next. This instability came with lots of suicidal thoughts and attempts. I never thought I’d ever become a Christian. Religion always seemed like a threat to my beloved freedom. I always used to say “I’m spiritual, not religious.” I constantly found myself in this agnostic rabbit hole. I had no true freedom, and got dizzy from all the circles I ran in my aimless freedom. And veganism alone couldn’t solve that and neither could my self-management of my own soul. So even though I was physically healthy, I still remained mentally sick and unhealthy. 

Once my faith became rooted in Christ in 2023, I also became liberated from chronic mental imprisonment. I finally had clear direction and reasonable boundaries for my freedom. My spiritual diet transitioned to one of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, righteousness, humility, and self-control. The chains deemed incurable by my therapists suddenly fell off. What seemed like freedom was actually bondage; and what seemed like bondage was actually freedom. I died to that self-made do-it-yourself life. Tackling the mysteries of life on my own wasn’t sustainable for my mental health. And who better to humbly seek help from than the one and only Creator of this strange realm, along with this instruction manual guide called the Holy Bible. 

My Northern Star was finally revealed, and I was no longer lost. It’s as if the changes in the physical and spiritual finally met & kissed, the two became one; and I became holistically whole. Being vegan kickstart my physical accountability; and being a follower of Christ joined that accountability to spiritual commitment. I stopped striving after asceticism and also hedonism, and gained that perfect balance through my faith. The hyper-focus of the circumstances of the physical world were distressing, and the hyper-focus of the mysteries of the spiritual world were disassociating. One always ended up suffering from neglect. I lacked a foundational root. As the door, Christ is the perfect mediator between the physical and spiritual.

As I navigate through Genesis, the beginning of creation originates as freedom with boundaries (Genesis 2:16-17), help (Genesis 2:18), and vegan-friendly: plant-based diet for both humans & animals (Genesis 1:29-30), zero clothing so no animal’s skins/furs (Genesis 2:25), the human assigned role to benevolently take care of the animals & the earth (Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis2:15). Yet mercy was given to a world that fell short of that ideal. So expect the road to have potholes, traffic jams, and less than ideal conditions. Freely we have received, and freely may we give our same grace to others as we embark on a detoured journey. Allow grace to set the pace; its rhythm is much more sustainable than rushing nowhere fast. And remember, diet also includes what we consume spiritually, not just the physical foods we eat. From the throne of self-righteousness & the rod of fear to the humble service of love & immense gratitude, life became livable again in every aspect.