Gratitude For Food

JUST FOR TODAY:  Pause to acknowledge the food that you consume is more than just food.  Recognize all that was involved to allow this food to be available for you and be grateful.

Often times we take food for granted.  We can go to a grocery store or restaurant and get pretty much what we want, whenever we want it.  But what if we had to plant the seeds, harvest the grain, mill the flour, prepare the dough, and bake the loaf in order to have a slice of bread?  And what if we had to buy the cattle, milk the cows and churn the cream in order to have a pat of butter on that slice of bread?  Think about the foods that you eat most often.  What was involved in order for you to have this food on your plate?  Consider everything, including farmers, ranchers, harvesters, processors, packagers, shippers, stockers, and cashiers.  When you acknowledge how many lives were involved in the production of the food, along with the life that the food is itself, food takes on a new meaning.  Food isn't just food for the body, it's food for the soul, too.  Pause to express gratitude for your meals today, and enjoy your soul food.

©2009 by "Dr. Dorie" McCubbrey, M.S.Ed., Ph.D. – Eating Disorder & Obesity Treatment Specialist – Denver, Colorado