A Prayer for Compassion: An Interview with Filmmaker Thomas Wade Jackson (vegan), Part 3 of 4

Today we present to you more from our engaging interview with the gifted and caring American filmmaker and vegan activist Thomas Wade Jackson. He’ll walk us through the compelling spiritual reasons for embracing a plant-based diet. “The choices we make every day, that dollar we’re spending is the most important vote we’re making, and that it is what’s feeding the instrument that is destroying the planet. And what we’re seeing over and over as more people go vegan, these corporations that have been destroying the planet are suddenly like, ‘Oh, I’m going to have a vegan option.’ These dairies that have been in families for years are like, ‘Oh, we’re out of that business, we’re going into oat farming’ or whatever. Because we are voting with our dollar. So, it’s so important that as you spend your money, you find out what you’re voting for.” “For me, those four pillars of the exercise, sleep, meditation, and good clean food, making sure you’re getting your nutrients, have made it where I not only feel energy and good every day, but it’s hard for me to get anxious. My body just feels so good and has the energy now because I am honoring this temple, that is housing this beautiful spirit, that is within all of us. And I honor it fully. And I’ve become more and more aligned, and I feel better and better and better.” Let’s now focus more on the keyword of Mr. Jackson’s documentary titled “A Prayer for Compassion.” What exactly constitutes “compassion”? The film director kindly answers as follows: “And then I looked up the definition of compassion. And I realized, ‘Oh, wow, it’s a two-fold definition. It’s not just empathy. It’s like, having empathy for another’s suffering. That’s the first half of compassion. If you only have that, you really only have empathy. The second half is to the point of being motivated to take action to alleviate that suffering.’ So the second half is being motivated to do something, and so I like to tell people eating a plant-based diet is doing something three or four times a day, you’re taking an action three or four times a day to vote when you buy it, and to take care of your body when you eat it, and to be an example, for those around you who are watching your health improve and your energy improve.”