Farm Sanctuary

Painting made for Gene Baur, founder of the Farm Sanctuary. Hundred Thank Yous Gratitude Project.

I love animals of all kinds.  It is crazy how much I do.  When I was little I loved my stuffed animals so much and cared for them like they were my little friends.  In some ways, I suppose they were.  I am a highly sensitive person and I feel things on a deep level.  Especially when it comes to animals.  

Painting made for a teacher that I worked with years ago that I asked why she was a vegetarian. I stopped eating meat that day, got my hands on as many books as I could about the subject and we became dear friends. Hundred Thank Yous Gratitude Project.

Growing up we would go out to dinner on Sundays when my dad got paid.  It was a big deal because we didn’t have a lot of money so dinner was a splurge.  But my parents always wanted to go to Ponderosa Steak House.  I never wanted to eat the meat.  I wanted the side dishes- the potatoes, green beans, corn.   When I begged to make my dinner just the salad bar, my parents wouldn’t hear me.  I remember it causing me terrible anxiety and I would work out a plan that would result in my eating the least possible amount of steak.  

I was young and really clear that I didn’t want to eat animals.  But it would be age 22 before I called myself a vegetarian.  

The painting I made for Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi. Hundred Thank Yous Gratitude Project.

I also learned early on that I am not the activist type.  I am more of the hold-the-space-of-love type.  I tried volunteering for animal rights organizations and spreading the word about factory farms.  But I generally avoid conflict so this was super stressful for me!  I also do not believe it is my job in this life to tell others how or what to eat.  But I am so very clear on what is right for me to eat.  

Having a plant based diet continues to be one of the most wonderful things about my life.  It is an act of self-love.

One of the other ways I help animals is to donate.  The profit from this pack of cards goes entirely to the Farm Sanctuary, a beautiful sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY for rescued farm animals.  I love the work of Farm Sanctuary so much that I made Gene Baur, the founder, a painting for my Hundred Thank Yous project (painting is above.)

In other news, I am very grateful to be in a magazine (other than a Stampington Magazine) for the first time!  Kris Carr added my Self-Love Prayer Flags to her list of Top Kitchen Picks for healthy living in Organic Spa Magazine. 

Have a beautiful weekend!  xoxo