I've often wondered why we don't cook more. It's so enjoyable, really. Okay, maybe not so much when the kids are consistently asking "what's for dinner?" or whining "I'm hungry" over and over. Maybe then it's not pleasurable. But if we truly look at the art of cooking, it's simply that- an art. From the beginning, choosing the food. Then the chopping with a beautiful sharp blade (as long as we don't injure our fingers), adding the ingredients, smelling the aroma, and finally enjoying your creation. Sometimes I think we take advantage of this process. Maybe it's the manufacturer's fault when they create easy mac and prepackaged soups. Maybe it's our society when we encourage quick-fixed meals. Maybe it's our own fault, for letting go of the importance of working hard and instead going for the short cuts.
choosing healthful food
The nourishment that comes from being kind to myself and others is the kind of food that stays with me. Each day, I move toward a diet of natural, healthy, simple food-away from highly processed foods, meat, and sugar.
-201 Little Buddhist Reminders
Either way, doesn't it seem like we've let go of something? Trading in quality for convenience?
I'm not saying that everyone should go back to making their own butter, or becoming Betty Crocker again. That's just not realistic. But perhaps we should let ourselves really get involved in what goes in our bodies, what becomes our fuel. Perhaps we would appreciate it more. Perhaps we would respect our bodies more. After all, we expect so much out of them these days. We operate on less and less sleep, more and more junk food, and to top it off we don't get anywhere in the physical activity department. Sure we'll work hard when we start a gym membership or commit to a marathon. But it's the day-to-day battle that we're losing.
I was talking to a friend today about schedules and getting things accomplished. Isn't it funny that the busier we are, the more we accomplish overall in our lives? When I've got more on my plate I seem to work harder and more efficiently than if I have less going on. Why is that? You know in other countries and other cultures, the United States is known for our love of work and staying busy. We live to work, not work to live. It's like it's ingrained in us from the beginning to seek satisfaction in life by having a job that uses and abuses us-so we can gain some sort of status. If only we thought differently. We could live to enjoy life. It goes by so quickly, and in turn we miss out on all the small, significant things. Perhaps we don't need to work so hard. Maybe we don't need to buy the house that ends up owning us. Maybe we don't need to complicate our lives by having just stuff in it. I've learned more about who I really am, and about what truly matters, when I started de-cluttering my life. Trimming out the excess, and living with the essentials. Looking at needs versus wants. Hmm, what a thought to ponder.
