Food is an amazing portal in so many ways. One of the games at our children’s birthday parties was to blindfold them and offer them small bites to taste. Then they had to guess what they’d eaten. This got them to shift from identifying the food by sight to concentrating on taste, texture, and smell.
In the most basic way, food as the provider of energy, is an existential requirement. But our relationship with food would be limited and limiting, and so much less meaningful, if we saw it as nothing but fuel. Even our pets appreciate diversity in their diet, and no gorilla eats the same thing every day.
From a basic biochemical aspect, mineral rich and nutritious food promotes cell growth and cell regeneration. Watch a wound close much faster if you eat superior foods, or your skin clearing visibly when you drink a green smoothie every day. It’s a direct relationship between inputs and outputs.
All food comes from the earth. Food is thus our direct connection to nature. When we have a sustainable relationship with the environment, it’s easy to grow beautiful, tasty and nutritious food without depleting the environment. Healthy food is the basis for good energy, good digestion, good mental health and a vigorous body. When the soil your carrot, apple or grain comes from, is healthy and mineral rich, you in turn will be thriving.
Food contributes to celebration. It connects us to our cultural heritage, something those who celebrate Passover or Easter surely appreciate this weekend. Through the special holiday dishes from our traditions we celebrate and enact the culture and geography we come from. The stories behind Harozet or Easter lamb are what fills the dishes with depth and meaning, not the ingredients themselves, and participating in such traditions ties us to the web of life.
Cooking together and sharing a meal is a great way to connect with friends and family. Food simply tastes better when shared, and the experience surrounding a shared meal is wonderful.
Food can be indulgent and imparts a deeper connection to our senses. You can derive so much pleasure from the different tastes, textures, colors, temperatures, sights (Instagram!) and smells of food.
Food in its many ways is a connection to and celebration of life!