Do or do not. There is no try.

This blog has been catalyzed by a major lifestyle change on the part of its author. For various reasons, I have decided to begin a vegan diet. I don't mean diet in its most common connotation, the way it's bandied about so indiscriminately by corporate America to prey on the unhealthy masses (oh, yeah, that's a pun). I mean it in the sense of its denotation: habitual nourishment.

So I'm not going on a diet. I'm simply changing my diet by not consuming animal products of any kind. Why? I could spout statistics supporting the benefits of such behavior, but I'd rather readers do their own research. Put simply, I'm tired of feeling like shit, and I don't want my kids growing up without a father (or my wife raising them without a husband) because I decided upon a lazy, destructive, hedonistic lifestyle. I've been on a fast track to diabetes, cancer, and heart disease for too long. It's time to progress. Nearly three weeks into this experiment, I feel I have lived up to the wise words of Yoda referenced in the title of this post. I'm doing it--not trying it; therefore, I'm sharing it.

Alas, I'll probably end up one of those evangelical vegans. After all, I am blogging about it, right? While I can't claim to have found God in raw veggies, I find it plausible that I have stumbled upon freedom and happiness (both of which are respectively divine, no?).

I am greatly indebted to my good friend Matthew Herren and his lovely bride-to-be Amy Zupanci for exemplifying the liberating nature of the vegan lifestyle rather than any negativity based on its inherent restrictions. Seeing them happy and healthy has done more for me than any research. Thank you, friends. All that follows is dedicated to you.