The Life Of Pie
Let’s cut to the chase… this is a blog about food.
Not Tao, not Sufism, not Zen, but those good ol’ fashioned meals that get us through the day!
It’s said that, in India, food is the one true religion. It could be, however, that the entire world is no different.
As for myself, I’m learning to accept my never ending love for croissants and other pastries; my ability to eat ridiculously large amounts of salad and bowls of oats; my laziness when it comes to cooking; as well as my growing appreciation for coffee!
So what more is there to say actually? Is it not pretty simple? Embrace the flavours of the Earth, eat what feels good, trust your intuition… blah blah blah…
My answer: NO its not. It’d be a pretty short and pointless blog otherwise also wouldn’t it?
Food is Life! It is momentum. It’s energy. It’s enthusiasm. It’s celebration, connection, creativity!
It is the Sufis after all that remind us how ‘eating bread without the awareness of God’ can make you choke!
It’s true. A plate of food can be sacred. The most sacred thing there is! Just as the wrong combination of flavours can be literally heart breaking…
As is becoming the trend of PARADOXICAL these days, lets list a few sweet and savoury ideas to help us embrace the Life of Pie:
> Keep it simple! Are you surprised already? Well don’t be… the foods that have stood the test of time are generally the basic, obvious ones; usually requiring few ingredients and not too many things happening all in one go! Think bread, polenta, pasta, banana bread, apple pie etc etc.
> Follow tradition! Modern diets are evolving and rightly so. Change is inevitable. But be suspect of entirely NEW ways of manufacturing, cooking or manipulating food. An orange is very different from a carton of orange juice; especially if it allegedly stays fresh for another 3 years!
> Eat with people! Share meals, cook for one another, give up your ideas of what apparently you like or dislike. Community dinners show us, more than anything, that we’re all the same deep down… and that if my neighbour enjoys it then probably so can I!
> I’ve already said it but here it is again: drop your stories around food! Easier said than done I know. But try. Oats don’t ‘have to be’ cooked in this way; animals can (it seems) be eaten, just as plants can; fruits and vegetables are colourful and alive, but too much of anything is never a good thing. Try new foods and recipes. Question your own ideas and understandings around food!
So there we have it folks - a spiritual / self-help blog about food. Hope you didn’t choke too many times whilst reading it.
I suggest you let it sit inside your mind (and stomach) for a while. Digest it one sentence at a time.
Happy eating readers / Happy reading eaters!
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