Food for Thought

Have you ever thought about where the food that appears on your plate comes from? Whether you are eating in a restaurant or take out or have prepared a meal at home – someone – maybe hundreds of people have been involved in getting that meal to your plate.

Who planted the seed that grew the vegetable? What hands watered it – or built and installed the irrigation system? What insects pollinated the plants, nourished the soil, fed from it? Who harvested it? That single grain of rice was planted and exposed to the sun, rain, watering, pesticides, perhaps, harvested, processed, packaged, transported to its final destination – your plate.

Who bred the animal, fed it, slaughtered it? (Yes, this is how we get meat.) Who transported it, packaged it- who designed the packaging? Who created the machinery that processed the food that ended up on your table?

The next time you sit down to eat – or prepare a meal take one minute to notice what it is you are preparing to eat.

Take a breath, look at your food and notice…the color, the shape, the texture, the scent, the size. Allow your thoughts to travel to all the people who made this meal possible and give thanks to them and to the gift of life that brought you this meal to sustain your life. Experience the energy inherent in the food and know that it is given to you this day that you may be nourished. Pray for people who have no food on their plates today – who have no plates, even. Be grateful for the gifts of each other and the miraculous web of creation and life. And partake of your meal from this place. You have just connected with the Source of Life.

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