A Very Public Love Letter to My Husband.

It's no secret - I have a big crush on my husband. From the time we began our courtship as friends back at NYU nearly ten years ago, I knew he was going to be a part of my life for a very long time. Even with that big fro of his (see photo), he captured my attention through possessing a sense of humor and friendship I had never known before with a guy. But the biggest discovery since letting him in all those years ago has been finding an ultimate source of support and unconditional love, the kind that exists beyond any circumstance, any pitfall, any obstacle.  


Take this morning for instance - after yo-yoing with exercise (one week on, two weeks off, one day on, three weeks off... you get the idea), I decided to start fresh and take a run with him. Each time I began to get down on myself for not being as fast as I used to be or having to take walking breaks when I wanted to just run, Steve was right beside me, cheering me on, telling me I was doing a great job. This generous, open spirit is why I will love my husband for all of my days - he sees me in a light very few do, and still wants the best for me. 

Always. 

We just got back from a beautiful vacation in Ojai, CA (more on that later), and now more than ever, I'm reminded of why living vegan has been so easy since I made that leap almost four years ago. My husband. Despite not completely understanding my motives, he totally threw himself into being the supportive, nonjudgmental best friend and tried anything new I asked him to. And the fact that he wasn't vegan to begin with makes this story especially sweet, because it gives me hope that if you make a positive change, commit to it, and stay consistent with it, the people who love you can't help but support it. And support it Steve did - in fact, he was so supportive that this fall will mark his third solid year living vegan with me. 

If I could be a coaching client of Steve's, I would in a heartbeat. I actually get jealous - yep, I said it, jealous! - of the many others touched by Steve's work as they navigate their wellness journey towards optimum health. Sure I get to have his support every day, but his coaching clients also get the structure of a life map along with all of the resources Steve has collected from his schooling and experience. It's pretty amazing! 

This month, Steve is literally giving away a free month of coaching to handful of people, which means for an entire month, you'll get the kind of best friend I got when I first went vegan. I can't emphasize enough how transformational your life will be after Steve touches it. And you don't even have to live in Los Angeles to benefit from this offer.

I implore you - reach out to Steve and change your life for the better. Let him shower that unconditional love on you that he does so easily with every single person in his life. I'm proof of his encouragement, and I think I'm doing a pretty swell job!

To learn more and set up that first call, email Steve at ahimsalifecoaching@gmail.com.

(And Steve, if you're reading this, no, this isn't to get me out of doing the dishes later. But a foot massage may be in order...)

Please Vote for Us!

Guest post by Steven Todd Smith, originally posted on the Ahimsa Life Coaching blog


1) Being vegan: It's a great reason to kiss someone.

2) You probably shouldn't actually kiss me.  I have a wife.

3) My wife, Lindsay Wolf, however, did create Kiss Me, I'm Vegan!, and I am a contributing blogger, so maybe she, myself, and any other kissable vegan out there is asking for a big ol' smooch.

Lindsay w/our sponsored Winny
In November 2008, Lindsay, almost two months vegan, started up a blog to document her new journey.  Titled "Oh Boy... What Have I Done?": "There will be recipes, stories, and lots of etcs. Mostly, this will be a place where I hope people, vegan and non-vegan alike, can find a sense of connection. Whether you've been eating vegan since birth, new to veganism, or a compassionate omnivore, my hope is that you will be able to learn something new about food and life... I have had some awesome and exciting experiences, made mistakes, and learned so much. And in the midst of it all, I've made a huge realization- that I love animals very much. How I got to this point and where I will go from here is why I created this blog. I'm so freakin excited. :)"

Since then, KMIV has developed the strongest, most compassionate & playful following of the kissable kind, interviewing over 20 vegan experts/warriors in health, food, animal rights, and beyond; sharing our favorite homemade and already published recipes; telling stories of our own vegan successes, struggles; posting the most adorable animal photos; imparting our wisdom to an amazingly open community of vegans and vegans-in-process; and more.  Also:

  • Alicia Silverstone, of The Kind Life, helped KMIV with a beautiful shout-out and guest post 
  • Two fundraisers, "Rock It Out! A Night to Benefit NY's Farm Animal Sanctuaries" have happened, raising almost $5000 for the animals.
  • Book, food, and other product giveaways have gotten KMIVers active and generously rewarded. 
  • We have had the opportunity to meet and connect with hundreds of individuals who we've been able to provide guidance for OR sought guidance from.  In all cases, we've made wonderful friends for life.

Why write all this? Well, it could be just because. From an outside perspective, Kiss Me, I'm Vegan!is a tremendous platform/forum for vegans and those interested in adopting a vegan lifestyle.  As a co-blogger, it's been a privilege to share my own story, knowledge, and words with others, as we all forge ahead in our vegan journeys.  My own Life Nutrition/Vegan Transition coaching business, Ahimsa Life Coaching, is ultimately a life result stemming from my vegan journey, stemming from Lindsay's vegan journey - all wrapped in and around Kiss Me, I'm Vegan!
VegNews: The Acclaimed Magazine/Resource for Everything Vegan!

The main reason I write, though, is because it's time for the 2012 VegNews' Awards! It's the world's largest survey of vegan people, places, and products with the chance to win amazing prizes.  So go vote now!  What I graciously ask, with great gratitude, is that for "Best Website" and "Best Blog," you please write in "Kiss Me, I'm Vegan!"  It would be such a spectacular tribute to Lindsay and the work she's done; also, an amazing way for KMIV to reach even more people and contribute further to create a beautiful, healthy, compassionate vegan world.

So, when you go vote this year for the VegNews Awards, have a blast a filling in your favorite vegan celebs, vegan food products, animal advocacy groups, and Kiss Me, I'm Vegan! by writing-in for "Best Website" and "Best Blog!" Who knows, maybe with your support, you'll see KMIV on the ballot next year!

PLEASE VOTE! THANK YOU!


All the best and yummiest to you.

Wouldn't you like a FREE personal coaching session?

Seriously. I would. Except he's my husband. So I can't.

All the more reason for YOU to give yourself the gift of a FREE coaching session with Steven Todd Smith. This guy knows what he's talking about! Not only is he a Certified Holistic Health Coach through the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, he's also a graduate of both the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, as well as Cornell University, where he received his Plant-Based Nutrition Degree through T. Colin Campbell's acclaimed program.
  
Click here to learn more and to set up your own FREE CALL TO ACTION. 

That simple. 

Let's take compassionate control, embrace all possibilities, and live our lives on purpose. Let Steve help you create a life you just plain love.

Word.

A Thought As You Go Through Your Day.


“Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood."
― Terence McKenna

Why not make a commitment today and go vegan? Here's a way to start.

Oh, and I love you! 

Kisses,
Lindsay

Let Us Be Like the Sun.

Photo © http://cellicherrytree.deviantart.com/
I just finished another chapter in a book that is changing my world, Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends And Influence People. Written in 1936, Dale’s book from the title alone suggests a way of living that will win people to your side and help change people’s minds to your personal point of view. Figuring it would be great for my business tactics as an actress (as I’m always looking for ways to convince people to cast me in new projects!), I started reading, only to discover that Dale was simply sharing with the world how to be a kind, warm, patient, and empathetic human being.

Dale’s most recent chapter was enough to inspire me to write today. He shares with his readers an old fable by Aesop about a disagreement between the sun and the wind. Dale writes:

They quarreled about which was the stronger, and the wind said, “I’ll prove that I am. See the old man down there with a coat? I bet I can get his coat off him quicker than you can.

So the sun went behind a cloud, and the wind blew until it was almost a tornado, but the harder it blew, the tighter the man clutched his coat to him. 


Finally, the wind calmed down and gave up, and then the sun came out from behind the clouds and smiled kindly on the old man. Presently, he mopped his brow and pulled off his coat. The sun then told the wind that gentleness and friendliness were always stronger than fury and force. 

How many times in our lives are we like the wind - fiercely protecting what we know is true and even more fiercely laying what we know onto others? I can only speak for myself, and to this I say -- well, I’m learning to be a little less windy.

Which naturally begs the question -- how can we apply Aesop and Dale’s message to our own daily lives, particularly in terms of living vegan? 

I find that when I’m asked about my vegan lifestyle, or when a person shares an observation about my being vegan, my body still, after nearly four years of living this way, feels a tenseness and uneasiness inside. It usually only lasts a few moments, and I know now where it comes from. I’ve had countless instances in the past where my “fury” and “force” to defend my lifestyle led me to losing support and understanding from people. This naturally built up within me a reservation against sharing my story, for fear that I will lose another friend or another fan.

Learning the why in all of this has helped me immensely. I blew my wind so furiously because my decision - to live vegan and honor animals and fellow humans for the rest of my life - has gone from a mere decision to becoming my moral compass, my own set of personal ethics, my True North. If there was a label for my faith nowadays, it would be living and practicing Ahimsa (for those newbies who are saying, “what’s Ahimsa?”, click here). Celebrating, honoring, and living by this credo has meant everything to me. It became so strong for me in recent years that I guess I’ve created this deep down, fairly irrational fear that one day, somebody might be able to take it all away from me, or even worse, one day, I may stop caring. Which, in the past, made me want to blow my wind even stronger, or in the case of the old man, hold onto my coat even more tightly. 

A moment of gentleness with Winny at Animal Acres.
It took a lot of trial, and even more error, before I learned that a gentle, positive touch is always the way. When people take the subject of your living vegan and provoke you, argue with you, challenge you, even make fun of you, I’m finding more and more that the impetus for all of the above comes from a place of genuine curiosity. A lot of us hold strongly and with deep pride onto our beliefs (again myself included), so whenever that is challenged in any way, even the most levelheaded and rational people can become emotional and rash. This is totally understandable, but unbelievably unhelpful, however, in creating change in others. Because the minute we become fierce, dogmatic, ever more rigid in how we share our lifestyle with our community, the less appealing it is to be around us. And what’s the most important thing in this whole equation? I think, and I may be wrong, but I do think that getting the most amount of people to live vegan wholeheartedly is it. So to do that is to appeal to a wide range of personalities, attitudes, deep seated beliefs, and ethic systems.

So let us be like the sun, and start small, with things like:

- positively acknowledging our loved ones when they eat a vegan meal,

- agreeing initially with someone who just doesn’t “get” our lifestyle as a way of gently opening them up to our point of view,

- treating our friends to vegan meals at beloved restaurants,

- when asked about living vegan, kindly asking the person about 
their own journey with eating and animals, 

- thanking someone for asking why we live vegan,

- rather than only sharing the facts about animal abuse, kindly sharing our own personal truth and letting our vegan story speak for itself.

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this subject, so please share ideas and feedback in the comments section below. As I’ve said before, this blog wouldn’t exist without you, my lovely, kiss-worthy readers.


May you all live like the sun and shine your beautiful, compassionate light on all you encounter.

A Thought As You Go Through Your Day.

Photo © Joanna Wilson Photography.

 “Dominion does not mean domination. We hold dominion over animals only because of our powerful and ubiquitous intellect. Not because we are morally superior. Not because we have a "right" to exploit those who cannot defend themselves. Let us use our brain to move toward compassion and away from cruelty, to feel empathy rather than cold indifference, to feel animals' pain in our hearts.”
― Marc Bekoff