I was recently reading a book written in 1953, in which the main character had a biscuit and coffee for dinner when he got home from work. His wife was pretty excited because she had just made the biscuits and was anxious for a little feedback. It was a pretty intense read, full of suspense, drama, incredible dialogue, etc... and yet here I am a week later and all I can think about is those dang biscuits. I want to know what it would be like to eat a biscuit for dinner, push away from the table, go about my chores, put the kids to bed, read for a while, and finally lay down around 10 p.m., satisfied, with nothing but the bitter brew keeping that little biscuit company deep inside my gullet. What freedom that would be, to be satisfied with so little.
We live in the land of plenty, and I enjoy it, I have no problems with the land of plenty. Okay, that's not true, I am horrified by Wal Mart for aesthetic reasons and I am paralyzed by anything with more than two options. Aside from that however, I have few bones to pick with the current age of prosperity. What I do have a problem with though is my inability to restrain myself when enormous amounts of delicious foods are available to me almost without limit. As I watch my pant size ebb and flow with tidal regularity, I know that I am missing out on more than rock hard abs. Slowly but surely, pleasure and satisfaction are eroding in the sea of Too Much.
Twilight is the sweetest time of the day for many reasons, most notably its brevity. Like summer in Wisconsin or Sunday morning, we savor twilight because it is delivered in the most fleeting fashion that assigns it incredible value and nearly demands that we revel in it. There is something about things in small or limited quantities that either amplifies or reveals signifigance. I want to rediscover the value of food, specifically great food by learning to consume it in increasingly smaller portions. I have no idea how I am to go about doing this, my will power in this area being practically non existent, but I know it is the only way my soul will survive and my body will enjoy my brief visit here to the land of plenty.
7 comments:
Food is a tricky thing. When I've been on long backpacking trips, (especially this most recent one in Sept.) with not enough food, all one can do is think about what type of food you would eat if you could. Then you come back to civilization and pretty quickly forget what it was like to be hungry. And yet even after repeats of this circumstance I find it impossible to remember how hungry you once were often enough to savor every morsel you get to enjoy with plenty.
Tyler, are you talking about physical food or spiritual food? I have the same problem with those moments where I feel a closeness to G-- and a deep understanding of His ununderstandableness.
is jarhead my cousin jared?
Marjorie - The book was Too Late the Phalarope by Alan Paton. I am very excited to see that someone from Australia read one of my posts. I recently finished Bill Bryson's book about Australia, In a Sunburned Country, and really enjoyed it, sounds like you live in a very interesting place. I have been trying to figure out how to list U2 on my profile and after reading your profile, I now know how. Thanks.
Wow, Jeremy, you sure can write well. I feel like you're sitting there talkikng w/ me face to face. Great use of figurative language.
As far as setting priorities w/ the food...when there are issues involved, dig deep w/ the Main Man, man.
I'm going to read your blog on a regular basis.
Let me ask you a question now that Thanksgiving has come and gone. Do you eat the turkey and side dishes or just the side dishes. I am personally just load up on side dishes. I mean I can get turkey anytime of the year but when can you get grannys special__________. Only during Thanksgiving and then I feel I have to eat it all because it will be a year till I see it again.
Uncle Mark - Very nice, thanks. Yes, the obvious answer is the one you usually overlook. Thanks for the reminder, I hadn't even thought about it from that angle.
Kris - I had one very small helping of turkey and three very large helpings of cranberry. Friday, more of the same, all the cranberry I'll get for the next year. Unless...
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