A slice of lemon practically melts in your hands. The juice seeps onto your fingertips, and the smell will linger on you for hours. The juice is so fragrant that you can lift your fingers to your nose, and even just the residue of the juice and the rind will make your mouth water. The aroma of a lemon slice fills up the space around you, bringing a refreshing air with it. It is bright and tangy and filled with character. The rind is glossy and smooth to glide your fingers across, with only little bumps to graze your fingertips across. When sunlight shines on it, the brilliant yellow turns into much softer, glowing hue. When you put fresh lemon in your mouth and let the juices seep into your taste buds, it clears up your other senses. It opens you up. It is refreshing and forces you into the moment. The intensity forces you to crunch up your nose and sometimes, your eyes to water.
Today, in my health class, we talked about how we consume food. We looked at lemon slices and observed them and tasted them in a guided activity and silence for five minutes. We recognized the hands and human labor that went into this lemon beginning from a seed to now resting in the palm of our hands. We recognized how our senses interacted with it. It was very eye-opening.
I usually treat food as a chore. I eat what I crave and when I'm hungry, I quickly shovel food into my mouth to fill my stomach so it'll stop growling. Eating is a quick process for me and I never really recognize where my food came from, the labor that went into it, what it does for my body, and the senses of it. Today showed me that treating food like the gift it is and recognizing how it interacts with your senses is really, really important.
Our professor told us to incorporate this gratitude into our lives with maybe just consciously deciding to chew more. "I will chew this fruit five times." Before you eat, say a thank you to whomever's labor and care and time went into making this meal or growing this life. Maybe take in the aroma or savor the taste just a second longer.
I often forget there is a vast majority of the world and population of children that does not have access to the food that I do. I am so incredibly fucking privileged to have the money, the resources, and the choice to choose what I want to eat today. I do not have to worry about the food I eat being expired, because grocery stores take care of that for me. For some, expired produce and ignoring health warnings is better than having an empty stomach. Some people have to go to bed hungry every night and ration their meals throughout the day for when they will need them most. Some families have to split their meals into smaller proportion sizes than what their body needs. Some parents eat less and ignore their needs so that their children don't have to.
I forget this. And that is a privilege in itself to even be able to forget such a thing.
But a seemingly simple ole lemon and a lesson from class today reminded me to practice gratitude again.
Today, in my health class, we talked about how we consume food. We looked at lemon slices and observed them and tasted them in a guided activity and silence for five minutes. We recognized the hands and human labor that went into this lemon beginning from a seed to now resting in the palm of our hands. We recognized how our senses interacted with it. It was very eye-opening.
I usually treat food as a chore. I eat what I crave and when I'm hungry, I quickly shovel food into my mouth to fill my stomach so it'll stop growling. Eating is a quick process for me and I never really recognize where my food came from, the labor that went into it, what it does for my body, and the senses of it. Today showed me that treating food like the gift it is and recognizing how it interacts with your senses is really, really important.
Our professor told us to incorporate this gratitude into our lives with maybe just consciously deciding to chew more. "I will chew this fruit five times." Before you eat, say a thank you to whomever's labor and care and time went into making this meal or growing this life. Maybe take in the aroma or savor the taste just a second longer.
I often forget there is a vast majority of the world and population of children that does not have access to the food that I do. I am so incredibly fucking privileged to have the money, the resources, and the choice to choose what I want to eat today. I do not have to worry about the food I eat being expired, because grocery stores take care of that for me. For some, expired produce and ignoring health warnings is better than having an empty stomach. Some people have to go to bed hungry every night and ration their meals throughout the day for when they will need them most. Some families have to split their meals into smaller proportion sizes than what their body needs. Some parents eat less and ignore their needs so that their children don't have to.
I forget this. And that is a privilege in itself to even be able to forget such a thing.
But a seemingly simple ole lemon and a lesson from class today reminded me to practice gratitude again.
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