Food

I had a thought earlier today which may be lost forever - at least in its articulate, understandable form - but it had something to do with identifying major areas within my life and the life of my family that could be improved through intentional and constructive change.

The first area I thought of was food.

Andy has been reading some of Michael Pollan's books (In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma) lately and it has changed the way he thinks about food. In the meantime, I've become increasingly aware of how my body is reacting to certain things I've been eating... and it's felt very similar to the process of working toward quitting smoking - namely, I just don't feel well when I eat certain things.

I may crave them and desperately want to eat them, but I've noticed through a sort of intentional mindfulness that I tend to feel rather awful after I've consumed said chocolate, packaged food, junk food, fast food, restaurant food, etc.

On top of that, there is the issue of the extra weight I'd still like to take off and Andy's frustration over some steadily rising numbers on the scale as well. So here we are, in our mid-30s, feeling out of shape, overweight, and generally dissatisfied with the way we eat.

Today Krista Tippett interviewed Barbara Kingsolver on Speaking of Faith. The interview focused on Kingsolver's latest book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. I didn't get to hear the whole thing, but it seemed to connect in a synchronistic fashion to the conversations Andy and I have had about intentional communities, homesteading, gardening, eating better, and committing to buying and consuming locally in order to eat more fresh foods and ground-to-plate meals.

Food is such a complex thing for most of us. Whether we love it or hate it, feel to thin or too fat or just right, are gourmands or diner-hounds or live in ramen noodles and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese... food is an ever-present, expensive, and vital component of our lives.

To see food as an ethical, moral, or mindful choice seems to move it from an automatic activity to an intentional one... to carefully consider everything we put into our bodies requires attention, action, and patience. And if we really are to tackle some of the larger issues that seem to hold our country back from ever-greater achievement and efficiency within the scope of food consumption and production, it seems being aware of how, what, when, why, and where we eat is a necessary and beneficial first step.

a.m. gift

This morning's Speaking of Faith featured the life and work of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. If you missed it, I highly recommend checking it out - they've got a podcast you can download if you don't get the program on your local public radio station.

I knew nothing of Heschel prior to hearing the program, so I found it quite fascinating. He worked closely with Martin Luther King, Jr. on the civil rights movement, protested the war in Vietnam from a religious standpoint, and worked to foster cooperation and understanding among different faiths by highlighting their commonalities and emphasizing the call of any individual linked to the divine to ultimately do his or her best to serve humanity.

His social advocacy efforts and perspective on prayer, faith, and one's relationship to God spoke very directly to me and my own spiritual journey and questions. I think his take on Judaism and religion in general seem to sync up with my take on Unitarian Universalism and the humanist aspect of that faith.

As a mystic, transcendental poet, and activist, he strikes me as an enlightened guy - and he certainly has been heralded by some as a prophet. It made me realize I know very little about prophets or enlightened teachers from multiple faiths; it's something I'd like to learn more about in the coming years.

Such men and women inspire me to be a better person. To seek, live, and offer the divine in my own living. To advocate for others, be an agent of change, serve my fellow humans in whatever way I can, and strive toward compassion and love for everyone I meet.

Not that I come even close on most days... but I believe there is merit in the effort, beauty in the pursuit, and purpose in the goal.