i do love mac ‘n cheese. it is a comfort food, for sure, and one reason why i still cannot consider myself vegan. i don’t eat it often and i am not a big fan of dairy, but it does find its way to my table every once in a while.
i have been trying to be more mindful when eating, taking notice and taking time, letting each bite reveal a little bit of life’s mystery as my body gains some nourishment. so, tonight with my mac ‘n cheese before me, i embarked to find awareness.
the first thought was, not surprisingly, “this is just a bowl of mac ‘n cheese.” followed by, “AND it looks delicious – i’m hungry!”
i set out anyway…looking deeply at the pasta i coould see that it is made of unleavened dough of wheat probably, mixed with some flour, water, and egg. looking deeper into those ingredients i could see that the wheat had to be grown, in a field where it received sunlight and water, without which it couldn’t survive. it grew out of soil that houses insects who burrow oxygenating and making it the perfect place for this wheat to grow. and then there is the farmer who owns the land and the workers of the land who assist in the farming. this doesn’t even address of course the eggs which came from chickens who also need sun and water and ranchers. chickens, mind you, that eat grain and feed that also need the right environment and nutrients to grow and be farmed – farmed using equipment that some genius developed, perhaps through trial and error and the help of other people. and then there is also the cow who produced the milk that with assistance and ingenuity has become cheese…oh, yes – the cow also requires sun and water and feed, etc. etc. etc.
looking deeply, i can also see that someone created this popular dish at some point and many others have contributed to the recipe that sat before me, before i ate it…out of a bowl made in China…you get the picture.
all of this and the staff at Sprouts where it was purchased by my sister with money that was given for jobs that i wouldn’t have or she wouldn’t have if it weren’t for people wanting our work.
so what i came to realize on a heart level, welling with gratitude, was what i have known on an intellectual level but hadn’t felt so deeply…this bowl didn’t hold just mac n’ cheese within it’s curved walls, it contained the sun, the rain, sacrifice, hard work, ingenuity and generosity…indeed, it contained the entire world.
below is a poem that i wrote on January 20, 2009 after watching the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.
i, like many in the U.S. and throughout the world, am inspired and refreshed by this turning of time, of perspective and attitude. as Mr. Obama said in his address, it is up to all of us to sacrifice, to work, to serve. these goals, these values are inherent at the core of all religious traditions…
may we be born-again to the awareness of the present moment, the gift of our life, and the opportunity to play our part in healing this world through compassion, kindness, peace, and love.
be well ~
j
it is Now
in this sacred moment of Now
with all of its momentary and
eternal meaning
alive with past
with future
with presence
it is Now
with all of its pain and pleasure
with all of its sorrow and joy
with all of its grievance and reconciliation
it is Now
with all of its despair and hope
with all of its doubt and faith
with all of its tears and laughing song
it is Now
in this sacred moment of Now
that we choose
in every breath
in every heartbeat
in every swimming cell of our bodies
to live in service to Life
to live in worship for Love
for
no longer are we one – but One
for
no longer is it me – but We
a tapestry solid and free
a community of humanity
it is Now
that we choose
to paint the skies with Love
to unfold the Wings of Hope
to walk these Words of Peace
it is Now
with all of who we are and surrender to be
that we choose to Love – to Love – to Love!
it is Now
in the sleeping face of cynicism
that we smile
our eyes awake with hope
with Love – with Love – with Love!
and
although some may
close their windows
draw their drapes
and
lock the doors to their hearts
we will Love – we will Love – we will Love!
and
we will see Love
lift us from our faltering foundations
and
we will see Love
carry us over the steepest of mountains
the most troubled of waters
and
the most barren of deserts
to the Promised Land
to the Highest Heaven
to the Sacredness of Now…
below is a poem that graces the first pages of Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, “Calming The Fearful Mind: A Zen Response To Terrorism”. it is the first Buddhist book i read and this autumn marks the anniversary of my reading it and the beginning of me following this path.
it speaks today, as it did then, to the very heart of how we see our interdependence – our relationship – to all others, even those who seem to be enemies. we are seeing, in this election and attempted passage of propositions such as Prop 8, a not-so-subtle attack on those who are “other” to what we have been taught through ideology and religion is “normal”.
when faced with such hate, anger, or indifference as some of us are finding ourselves it is easy and even seems just to react with hate and anger in retaliation. Buddhism teaches something different (and so do the teachings of Jesus Christ, even if Christianity as a religion sometimes fails to).
with his well known elegant, compassionate style Thich Nhat Hanh expresses this teaching of the Dharma in the following poem.
be well friends and peace to you ~ j
Recommendation
Promise me,
promise me this day,
promise me now,
while the sun is overhead
exactly at the zenith,
promise me:
Even as they
strike you down
with a mountain of hatred and violence;
even as they step on you and crush you
like a worm,
even as they dismember and disembowel you,
remember, brother,
remember:
man is not our enemy.
The only thing worthy of you is compassion-
invincible, limitless, unconditional.
Hatred will never let you face
the beast in man.
One day, when you face this beast alone,
with your courage intact, your eyes kind,
untroubled
(even as no one sees them),
out of your smile
will bloom a flower.
And those who love you
will behold you
across ten thousand worlds of birth and dying.
Alone again,
I will go on with bent head,
knowing that love has become eternal.
On the long, rough road,
the sun and the moon
will continue to shine.
The Metta Garden 