March 28, 2004

• THINGS THAT REFRESH MY SOUL

  Eating

  This is a very dicey subject for me and many people. We have become a nation of overeaters, it would seem, and eating is a truly difficult addiction to treat, as one cannot simply stop eating like one can stop drinking alcohol or taking drugs. Apparently, we are a nation in need of comfort and food is one way to attempt to get it. On the other side of this coin is the fact that eating within healthy boundaries is a requirement for a healthy soul and body. It is also intertwined with so many lovely experiences in life – the preparation and tasting of food we have grown ourselves in our own gardens, the sharing of a simple meal with a friend, the first meal with a new lover, the holiday gathering of families around dinner tables, the experience of tasting a new cuisine in a foreign country or in our own. And there is always the awareness that while we eat for whatever reasons many in our world are starving. We may also be aware that some of the food we eat was produced by animals who were treated brutally for this purpose. We now can read labels and become more educated about all the preservatives and carcinogens that are present in much of the food we buy in stores. Endless books are written and diets created to deal with this complex part of our lives. There are whole stores full of nothing but cookbooks. Each of us must find our own path through this maze of information and take responsibility for our own health, both physical and spiritual. Recently, I took my grandchildren for a drive in the country and we stopped for lunch at a small-town diner. The walls were covered with photographs of happy local customers, the tables were busily occupied by them as well, and the staff was warm and hospitable to we three strangers. I chose a vegetarian omelet, as I’m drifting toward becoming a total non-meat-eater in the last part of my life. It was good, being with my grandchildren on a sunny day in the country was good, being part of the daily camaraderie of a small town restaurant was good. At that moment, eating was refreshing my soul.
  Deep Thought: When I think of all the hours and hours of my life I have spent watching television, it makes me realize, Man, I am really rich with television.
  Today I am grateful for: Taste buds

  • 11:06 am
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