My wife and I have been fully ‘Plant Based’ and consume a healthy diet and follow a Plant Based Lifestylediet. In a society that eats a commercial ‘Standard American Diet’ that is borderline deadly and full of ultra-processed and often artificial ‘food’, it places us in a Fringe that is pretty much foreign to most of our acquaintances.
Yes, we know a lot of folks but have few true ‘friends’. One of the main reasons is that there are few activities, events we can attend or participate in because the ‘stuff’ they charge for and serve we consider borderline deadly. Yes, you read that right, downright DEADLY and we refuse to support/participate/engage with something that could contribute to our personal DEATH or at best contribute to an illness/disease that will ultimately KILL US.
Oh, I DO speak from experience! Yea, back in 2010, I was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer and given a couple years to live. https://cancersurvivor.wf4hl.com Yep, 15 years ago so I guess all those ‘medical professionals’ I saw/consulted really didn’t have a clue what the hell they were (or are) talking about. You see, I simply changed my lifestylediet to a Whole Food Plant Based Lifestylediet (https://wfpbls.com/lifestylediet.html) and began to truly LIVE. Now, at 78 years old, I guess it has proven pretty successful!
My lovely wife, now Chef Nancy, not only supported my lifestylediet choice but fully joined in and has now also experienced the wonderful health changes that accomplish this delicious way of eating. Previously suffering from fibromyalgia and scheduled for a stent, she is now 77 and healthy.
While we totally enjoy each other and are constantly 24/7 together and sharing this amazing life, it might be nice to have ‘friends’ and participate in events and activities in a more social atmosphere. I don’t believe that will come to pass in the near future, or even distant future.
Oh, we have lovely neighbors in our lovely subdivision where we built a nice new home some 4 years ago, but can’t really consider them true ‘friends’. We don’t socialize with many of them and they don’t bother to invite us to activities as they KNOW that we can’t really participate/enjoy the venues. We continue to watch their health deteriorate and watch them age as the time goes by.
They watch us and our activity level as we post and update our social media sites. When I post how I do over 6 miles on my ‘rebounder’ almost every day, they just look and shake their heads (https://health-healing.wf4hl.com/rebounding.html). Nancy posts our daily plant-based meals that look and are just delicious and beautiful, they express no desire to learn or understand just how/what they are or how to make them. Most are quite easy, inexpensive and DELICIOUS.
We take a differing approach to so many in the extreme dietary world. Many other Plant Based advocates seem to proclaim extreme dietary means like ‘NO OIL’ and other extreme measures that we avoid. Such extreme measures, while helpful with some disease/treatment approaches, are certainly NOT necessary for a more preventative approach. Out bodies are very capable of defeating most disease but our wonderful natural immune system (https://health-healing.wf4hl.com/immunesystems.html).
We seem to have more ‘friends’ in our social media world (
https://wf4hl.com/
) that we do in our local social circle. I have some 30+ web sites where I post articles and information on Health, Wellness and Longevity Nancy and I have discovered, experienced and enjoy. We have written/published numerous books on this and related subjects (
https://publishing.wf4hl.com/
). But we enjoy few visits to our sites and sell very few of our books. Yes, part is marketing, but we can little afford to pay for advertising and such; we ARE old farts and live mostly on Social Security.
Still, we rejoice when we get a call or email from someone who has read or heard of our work. Just this past week, I got a call from a couple in Sussex UK! Amazing how small our world truly is. He has cancer and had seen one of my interviews (https://cancersurvivor.wf4hl.com/interviewwithskip.html). I had missed their call previous and was so overjoyed to be able to help them that I send them pdf copies of most of our books. It will keep them busy for while!
You see, most of our counseling work is done Pro Bono and while we do accept donations, do not charge for our counseling, instruction and recipe services. We are thrilled when we can provide assistance and encouragement to others to help them experience and enjoy a Plant Base Lifestylediet and prevent or reverse disease and aging while experienced enhanced energy and LIFE.
So, we live a solitary life TOGETHER and enjoy Every Day. We continue to write and post recipes as counsel folks, literally around the World, we have few local friends in a social circle. It is just so sad to watch so many people literally Eating Themselves to DEATH. It is so easy to Live a Healthy Vibrant life while preventing most illness (https://health-healing.wf4hl.com/prevention.html). Yet there seems little interest.
Wow can I EVER relate to that!!!
That sounds pretty lonely, Skip. I hope you're able to meet some friends. I have friends, many of whom aren't vegan, but most eat organically grown food, and will make something special for me at potlucks (I know -- pretty nice!). We're starting a local environmental group, so I appreciate being able to share food with these lovely people. After forty years of being vegan, I'm pretty good at going with the flow while respecting my own boundaries.