claireahimsa

[claireahimsa]

When humans refuse to inflict pain on other humans, surely it is because we assume they feel. It is not because another person can think, nor because they can reason, nor even because they can speak that we respect their physical boundaries, but because they feel….We do not want to cause suffering. If, as I believe, animals feel pain and sorrow and all the other emotions, these feelings cannot be ignored in our behavior toward them.

When Elephants Weep:  The Emotional Lives Of Animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. (via thinkveganworld)

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Delish vegan galette at this little veggie gem in Brixton Hill @emppa_t #KataKata #vegetarian #brixton #vegan (at Katakata)

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#sunflower #summer #lovethelea #happiness #blueskies #cityscapes #citygardens #urbangardens #london (at London Borough of Hackney)

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New project #shoegardening #recycle #reuse #sustainable #environment #lovethelea #citygardens #urbangardens #urbangardening #green (at Hackney Wick)

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Blue, blue skies 💙 #london #skyline #cityscapes #nc1 #bst #solstice

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Magic #london #skyline #cityscapes @kingscrossN1C (at Gridiron, Kings Cross)

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#hoopers Another reason to ️be in love with London. I was catching up with an old friend at Caravan in Kings Cross last night. We sat in the courtyard by the fountain drinking wine & chatting while a girl with 5 hula hoops was practicing hooping in the background. I captured her on my iPhone, sent it to my hooping maniac bezzie Gemma & minutes later she appears, beer and hoop in hand. Next minute we’re all getting hooping lessons on a warm & sunny Friday the 13th London evening #London #lovelondon #kx #nc1 #granarysquare #kingscross #caravan #hooping #hula #hipsters #hippylove #hippy #carefree #love #fullmoon #blackfriday #fridaythe13th #thirteen #13 (at Granary Square)

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❤️ #travel #wanderlust #globetrotter

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Respect mother nature.

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If there was a heaven, this would be the way.

[claireahimsa]

Tonight I went to a networking event at the Kings Cross Skip Garden. The location was magical; an organic vegetable garden that has been developed in recycled construction materials, mainly building skips. Kings Cross is, right now, the largest urban redevelopment project in all of Europe. The garden has been designed to be movable so as each new site gets developed, they simply relocate the garden! I’m in love with the place and will be visiting the onsite vegetarian cafe regularly to check on the progress of the wheat seeds I sowed.

  The event was put on by the Honey Club who have installed beehives in the garden. If you haven’t heard about bees disappearing then you’ve been living under a rock. Basically through the use of pesticides, urban development and more disturbingly, agriculture, we are destroying the bees source of food and destroying their habitats. A solution is these urban gardens being planted and maintained to provide food for the bees, and in an ideal world we would need to stop clearing land for agriculture and development.  I’m all for any project that is working to sustain the worlds bee population, I think it’s a necessity that we intervene with nature in a positive way instead of always impacting on her negatively.

  It was really interesting to learn about the bees; they’re absolutely incredible animals and there is still so much about them that we don’t understand. As a vegan it was really weird for me to then be told that the Honey Club extract the honey from the hives that the bees have worked so hard to manufacture, and then use it to make food and toiletries. The bees create the honey for themselves, to sustain their hives; they don’t dedicate their entire lives to making a product for human consumption.

I totally agree that we need to be providing habitats s and more importantly planting food for the bees, but I don’t agree with keeping hives and profiting from the honey. The profits may be donated back into the project but to me, that is similar to providing a cow sanctuary for cows mistreated by the dairy industry, then milking them, then selling their milk to sustain the project. I guess it’s not really the same, but you get my point, right?

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Sowing wheat seeds in an organic vegetable garden planted in recycled construction material. This amazing sustainability project promoting green city spaces is located bang in the middle of the largest urban redevelopment in Europe 🌱 @kingscrossN1C @global_gen #kingscross #london #kingscrossN1C #N1C #london #sustainability #greenspaces #permaculture #citygarden #cityscapes #urbangarden #environment #greenfeatures #reuse #recycle #organic #green #healthy #conservation #vegan (at Kings Cross Skip Garden)

[claireahimsa]

It’s always days like these, when I can escape the constant distraction of outside influences and calm the mental noise that echoes throughout my mind to focus on what is important to me; what makes me happy, what desires I truly have and what stirs something inside me greater than the need to conform to society and do what is normal or expected.

Plans fell through and instead of trying to replace them with last minute social interactions I accepted the reality of my present moment and decided to spend time with myself, doing things for me.

I watched Home, a documentary about how humanity is threatening the ecological balance of the Earth. I visited the London Buddhist Centre and found out about meditation classes through the week. I cycled in the rain to the British Museum and lingered around the Ancient Egypt section, fascinated and in awe. I watched Russell Brand express his beautiful mind on his Youtube channel Trews. I signed up for Greenpeace UK’s action team, contacted PETA UK to let them know I’m here and available to help, and looked into aged care volunteer work. I reposted my pet sitting ad, enquired about second hand guitars, researched window sill gardens and read up on what’s going on with the local politics. I cleaned; declutttering not only my physical surroundings but also my mental surroundings. I listened to new music and downloaded albums. I created – I used recycled bottles and jars to burn candles. I shopped locally and organically. I went to markets and drank coffee and fell a little bit more in love with London. 

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London beauty #bluesky #cloud #sky #reflection #canal #sun #sunshine #beautiful #london #eastlondon #picoftheday #photooftheday #bestpics #bestsnaps #bestoftheday #love #londonlife #city #cityscape #spring #springtime

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Be present & appreciate every moment #vipassana #ahimsa #dhamma #happiness

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London tonight #inlove 💋#london #londongirl #londonlife #londonlove #veganlondon #sunset #regentscanal #eastlondon #victoriapark #canal #boat