---
template:
slug: better
title: Being better
subtitle: My epistemic breakthrough to better living
date: 2024-12-19
---

A year and a half ago, I decided to go completely vegan. Actually,
scratch that -- completely *plant-based*. I only went vegan about a year
ago[^1]. It took six months for the reasoning to actually *click*. It's
kind of like an optical illusion: you know it's an illusion because it
says so, but it still takes you a while to actually *see* it.

[^1]: I use the term "vegan" to describe ethical vegans.

![optical illusion](https://cdn.icyphox.sh/illusion.jpg){300x300}

When it did click, I couldn't unsee it; I couldn't unthink it. Total
paradigm shift. *Why* contribute to suffering when we -- those with
privilege, living in modern society -- can completely do without it? Of
course, most people have yet to even look at this particular optical
illusion, let alone experience the [illusory
unravelment](https://gappa.atharvaraykar.com/atharva/vocal-fry-and-illusory-unravelments)
that follows.

Vegans, and to some extent, vegetarians reading this, may already know
what I'm talking about. I'm choosing to describe the moment this
epiphany occurred, as when I started "being better". To be clear, this
isn't in a "better than you" sense, but rather, a more holistic
betterness -- for myself, other beings, and the planet as a whole.

This has by far been the best decision I've made for myself -- one that
has not only improved both my mental and physical health but also opened
up my mind to entirely new epistemic frameworks like effective altruism,
transforming how I reason about moral responsibility. I have learned to
*think* more deeply.

There's a lot more I can say, but I've found the most powerful lever was
moral consistency. Most of us already live by a shared set of moral
principles: we condemn abuse and believe causing unnecessary suffering
is wrong. Moral consistency is simply about extending that compassion
beyond pets and charismatic wildlife to all sentient beings. The values
are already there; we just need to align our actions with them.