On the radio I hear every morning the countdown: x days left until the year 2000. We are made aware of the days of tomorrow and we are thinking of what we can achieve before tomorrow is again yesterday. That reminds me of an old saying 'today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday'. Somewhere between my thoughts of tomorrow and dealing with the worries of the present, time passes and life goes on. In daily life one encounters seemingly insurmountable problems most often based on attitudinal barriers, prejudice, ignorance, self-indulgence, narrow-mindedness and fear. It is covered up by the verbiage of the excuse 'too busy, too late, too tired, too overloaded, unappreciated'.

Prof. Dr. Marcel Hebbelinck, President of the EVU

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do. - Helen Keller I am amazed to hear these excuses again and again. While I do not deny that these excuses are based on real situations, I believe that it is a matter of defining goals and setting priorities. As members of an idealistic organisation we must make time for a contribution to promoting and propagating a vegetarian lifestyle. It is time to make an active participation in vegetarian activism our number one priority. This can be in taking part in local vegi contact groups, animal rights activities, writing articles about vegetarianism, assuming responsibility in a vegetarian association or just taking part in activities of the vegetarian movement at large. These are just a few examples of what needs to be done to the next millennium. Let’s move. One is waiting that time will change, the other gets down to it and acts. - Dante I urge you, no matter what your professional trail, spend time today to reorder your priorities. Place promotion of vegetarianism as a healthy lifestyle first with the goal of making a contribution to the animals’ rights and to the environment at large. It is undoubtedly also a major asset for tomorrow for the spiritual development and well-being of each of us. No matter what your other priorities are, move vegetarianism to the top of your 'do' list. Your future is now. YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TODAY AGAIN. Our collective future is on stake: we must be active today to save our tomorrow. I am glad that in EVU we have a number of volunteers who assume responsibilities and devote a great deal of their free time to the good cause of promoting and propagating vegetarianism. More and more people are becoming interested in the vegetarian lifestyle, but do not know where to begin or how to tackle the many questions involved. Let us share the knowledge we have acquired, let us make new adherents to the vegetarian movement. Your future is now! Marcel Hebbelinck, Prof. Dr. em., Laboratory of Human Biometry and Biomechanics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Faculty Phys. Ed. & Phys. Ther. Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussel Tel.: +32-2-629.27.29, Fax: 629.27.36; e-mail: mhebbel@vub.ac.be © European Vegetarian Union - http://www.ivu.org/evu